

After Years Of Drilling, Antarctic Lake Will Be Reached - Robelius
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979

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Lazare
Let's hope it turns out better than this:
<http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm>

(Sorry, but I think it's almost obligatory to link _A Colder War_ every time
this story comes up.)

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andrewflnr
What a lovely story to read right before bed.

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smoody
That article is over a year old (January 2011). Here's a newer one from 18
January 2012:

[http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/01/all-
eyes-o...](http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/01/all-eyes-on-
antarctic-drillers.html)

As a matter of fact, based on their drilling rate, they should have reached it
by now.

~~~
dholowiski
They were 50 meters away last year. January 2012 they were 29. Looks like they
still have another year or two to go.

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DilipJ
There is a recent Washington Post article that says they are on the verge of
breaking thru.

I hope they discover some form of life in the lake. It would be amazing to
discover what the evolutionary outcomes would be for organisms in such an
isolated harsh environment.

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Robelius
I'm glad that the Russian Government did not bail out of this project in the
end, and instead decided to see it through. I only wish more tax dollars were
spent towards research, rather than fighting.

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goblin89
> the team came up with new, ecologically safe methods of probing the lake

Let's hope that these will work. ’Technical difficulties‘ reported make it
look like the equipment may not have enough precision to keep it clean.

~~~
eps
What makes you say that?

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goblin89
Please refer to the original article and search for ‘But the work has not been
going very smoothly’. Also, check out the link posted by smoody and search for
‘nerve-wracking moment for the drillers’. We don't want antifreeze and other
stuff to get into the clear water underneath, I guess.

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eps
Are they actually _drilling_? As opposed to melting the ice and removing the
water. Especially since the ice is near its melting point at their current
depth as per article.

~~~
maaku
Yes they are drilling, because drilling results in ice cores that are
scientifically useful (provide context).

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mbq
I only wonder whether humanity will be able to resist the urge of selling it
as a bottled water at some point...

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jrabone
Am I the only one who read "huge round [ice] monocrystals of a metre or more
in diameter and as hard as glass." and immediately thought "ice-9"?

[<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cats_Cradle>]

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yogrish
you might be interested in this HD Documentary
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&lis...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL5E237D7816405729&v=maQhn96AhuI)

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baddox
My interest was piqued by the mention of "space radar."

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shill
Release the Kraken!

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jameslevy
Hope they won't find any _Thing_ they're not looking for.

(<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/> and 2011 prequel
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0905372/>)

