Mysterious lake discovered under Antarctica at a depth of 1km
In the first days of 2019, scientists in Antarctica made a surprising discovery: a huge lake with an area twice the size of Manhattan (59km2) buried under ice up to 1km deep.
According to initial information, it took scientists about two days of continuous drilling to reach the area containing the lake.
A team of researchers, including 45 scientists, drillers and other staff, sent an instrument down the massive borehole and captured rare footage.
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Scientists have just discovered a huge lake deep under the ice in Antarctica. |
In the coming days, scientists will also lower a remote-controlled vehicle into the borehole to capture more footage and take measurements such as the temperature and cleanliness of the lake.
“We don’t know what we’re going to find,” said John Priscu, lead scientist on the mission.
Part of the drilling process involved taking samples of the borehole water to test its cleanliness. The water was tested twice and both tests showed that the water was as clean as you can get from tap water.
Priscu now hopes to learn more about life that exists miles below the ice, a task that could take years to complete.
Currently, in Antarctica there are about 400 lakes hidden beneath large ice sheets that have not yet been fully explored.
