Russian Scientists are Drilling Through Antarctica in Hopes to Find Prehistoric Life.
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[release]Russian scientists are on the verge of punching a hole into a vast Antarctic lake that's buried under more than two miles of ice.
If the Russians break through, they may tap into and disturb a primitive and pristine ecosystem that has been untouched for millions of years.
Lake Vostok is actually the third largest lake in the world, measured by the amount of water it holds. And if you're surprised to learn that there could be a vast pool of liquid water under two miles of ice, so were the Soviets.
In fact, they had no idea there was a lake there when they built their Vostok camp more than 50 years ago. Robin Bell, a professor of marine geology and geophysics at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, says the Soviets picked the spot because it was the Earth's magnetic South Pole.
"The Russians went to the magnetic South Pole in 1958 because they missed the race to the rotational South Pole," Bell says. The U.S. claimed that prime real estate.
But it turns out the south magnetic pole isn't fixed in one place — in fact, it wandered off from Camp Vostok, leaving the Soviet base seemingly in the middle of nowhere.[/release]
[url=http://www.npr.org/2011/02/03/133441327/deep-below-antarctic-ice-lake-may-soon-see-light]Full Story Here.[/url]
I am looking forward to hearing what they find.
I remember the scientific community getting angry about this because we do not have a way currently to obserse and take samples without disturbing and introducing foreign contaminants from our environment into this closed system.
[QUOTE]One major concern is the Russians have filled the hole they're drilling with more than 14,000 gallons of kerosene and Freon to prevent it from freezing shut. The Russians have engineered their system so that when they break through into the lake, water pressure from below is supposed to push the drilling fluids up the hole, rather than letting them pour into the lake and contaminate it.[/QUOTE]
It could be bad if this goes wrong.
It's gonna have guaranteed contamination.
What they should do, is make a big metal torpedo to collect samples, then sit it nose down in the ice and snow, and let it melt it's way down.
Then just have it return to the hole when it's finished and hook it back on and pull it up.
Is OvB's body ready?
[QUOTE=bravehat;28454915]It's gonna have guaranteed contamination.
What they should do, is make a big metal torpedo to collect samples, then sit it nose down in the ice and snow, and let it melt it's way down.
Then just have it return to the hole when it's finished and hook it back on and pull it up.[/QUOTE]
The problem is guaranteeing that that metal torpedo is completely sterile, and will still be that way when it breaks through to the lake. Not as easy as it sounds.
[QUOTE=Splambob;28455492]The problem is guaranteeing that that metal torpedo is completely sterile, and will still be that way when it breaks through to the lake. Not as easy as it sounds.[/QUOTE]
I think that's more of a suggestion towards the Freon and kerosene problem since he said it's going to have guaranteed contamination.
[QUOTE=Splambob;28455492]The problem is guaranteeing that that metal torpedo is completely sterile, and will still be that way when it breaks through to the lake. Not as easy as it sounds.[/QUOTE]
Simple.
Autoclave it.
As much as this is interesting, it's also a fucking terrible use of our budget.
Instead of developing and importing medical supplies for our pretty much dying population (HIV being the most prominent one), or cleansing our military and authority figures from Soviet-era corruption, or investing more in our fucking terrible police force, we do shit like this. Medvedev needs to get his damned priorities straight.
[editline]6th March 2011[/editline]
Unless these are independent scientists that don't work for the state in that case all is well.
Oh no , they'll find the nazis in the hollow earth
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;28455789]Oh no , they'll find the nazis in the hollow earth[/QUOTE]
The Nazi's have been dormant for many years now living beneath the ground, they have changed, I don't think we can stop them.
[img]http://www.gamingheaven.com/gamingreviewimages/necrovision/pictures/necrovision_004.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE=xxxkiller;28454867]I am looking forward to hearing what they find.[/QUOTE]
It'll be only interesting if you're a biologist, Vostok is supposed to be just microscopic life.
Omg dem commies want to find dinosaurs and conquer the world.
Can't they just lower a drill that's been autoclaved and make their own hole going down. And in that pipe, pump electricity to warm the walls around it so it doesn't freeze back over. But then you gotta be pumping a lot of volts/watts/amps whatever the term is down the line.
[QUOTE=bravehat;28454915]It's gonna have guaranteed contamination.
What they should do, is make a big metal torpedo to collect samples, then sit it nose down in the ice and snow, and let it melt it's way down.
Then just have it return to the hole when it's finished and hook it back on and pull it up.[/QUOTE]
I was gonna say "inb4 Someone is gonna try to be a genius scientist that sits home by the computer and clicking on porn sites and playing Call of Duty."
But you had to.
:ussr:
Only conclusion I keep coming to is that they are going to find the "Thing" and then we're all going to be assimilated.
But this time it's the Russians, so they may have a better handle on the situation. Did they say exactly how deep they would be drilling?
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;28458533]Only conclusion I keep coming to is that they are going to find the "Thing" and then we're all going to be assimilated.
But this time it's the Russians, so they may have a better handle on the situation. Did they say exactly how deep they would be drilling?[/QUOTE]
About 4k m or 13k feet.
Would be funny if they found only water, and that the 2 mile long hole they dug would be useless.
[QUOTE=Janizaurd;28458766]Would be funny if they found only water, and that the 2 mile long hole they dug would be useless.[/QUOTE]
[quote]Living Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus microorganisms have been found in Lake Vostok's deep ice core drillings, an extant surface dwelling species. This suggests the presence of a deep biosphere utilizing a geothermal system of the bedrock encircling the subglacial lake. There is optimism that microbial life in the lake may be possible despite high pressure, constant cold, low nutrient input, potentially high oxygen concentration and an absence of sunlight.[/quote]
[QUOTE=RoflKawpter;28457721]Can't they just lower a drill that's been autoclaved and make their own hole going down. And in that pipe, pump electricity to warm the walls around it so it doesn't freeze back over. But then you gotta be pumping a lot of volts/watts/amps whatever the term is down the line.[/QUOTE]
Probably too high of an energy draw for that, it's not like you can just hook up to the grid in Antarctica.
[QUOTE=xxxkiller;28454867]I am looking forward to hearing what they find.[/QUOTE]
They're going to find a bunch of prehistoric bros just chilling.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;28458533]Only conclusion I keep coming to is that they are going to find the "Thing" and then we're all going to be assimilated.
But this time it's the Russians, so they may have a better handle on the situation. Did they say exactly how deep they would be drilling?[/QUOTE]
But all the Russians do when problems are encountered is either
A) Nuke the whole thing or B) Abandon shit and hope no one realizes it was all your fault.
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;28455789]Oh no , they'll find the nazis in the hollow earth[/QUOTE]
Dumbass, we all they're hiding on Mars.
Find amazing new species and kill them all off in the same day. Well atleast I hope not.
Let's hope they find something interesting and that it's not a complete waste of time and money.
Yeah I really hope they don't contaminate it, that lake has the most pristine waters on earth.
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