Scientists reach unexplored lake hidden under Antarctic ice sheet

 

This is our last report, which is about an unexplored lake named Vostok, we hope you like it! 

Ricard: Hello, we are in Antarctica and we are excited to explain a hot scientific news which will you feel astonished.

Ferran: Russian scientists have finally drilled into an enormous freshwater lake that’s hidden nearly 4km under the Antarctic ice sheet.

David: It is the first time that humans have ever actually made contact with Lake Vostok, which is thought to contain life-forms that existed before the Ice Age. On the other hand, some scientists think that the extreme pressure and cold in the lake will make it very hard for anything to survive there.

Marc: There are over 400 lakes beneath the ice and glaciers in Antarctica, but Vostok is the largest of them. It is around 1,300km away from the South Pole, and Russian engineers had to drill down through 3,769m of ice before they hit the lake.

David: The water in the lake is kept from freezing because the ice sheet overhead insulates it and keeps heat in the lake. When the drill reached the lake, the water pressure forced water back up the borehole, which then froze. The Russian scientists will return when the weather is better so that they can remove this frozen plug and examine its contents.

Ferran: The researchers hope to collect more water samples from Lake Vostok, as well as sediment from the bottom of the lake. It is hoped that this will provide clues about previous conditions on Earth.

Ricard: That's all, we'll continue informing with new hot news. Visit our website for more information.

Ricard, Ferran, Marc and David