Scientists in Antarctica have finally drilled into a mysterious lake buried under more than 3,500 feet of ice in a bid to find out if life exists there.
Mercer Subglacial Lake is a hydraulically active lake that lies more 1000m beneath the Whillans Ice Plain, a fast moving section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
The pool of water, known as Subglacial Lake Mercer, measures nearly 62 square miles, was discovered more than a decade ago through satellite images but has never been explored.
Scroll down for video
Al Gagnon (left) and SALSA Marine Techs Michael Tepper-Rasmussen and Jack Greenberg (center and right) test the WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Gravity Corer that will be used to collect 10-foot and 20-foot sediment cores from Mercer Subglacial Lake. Scientists in Antarctica have finally drilled into a mysterious lake buried under more than 3,500 feet of ice in a bid to find out if life exists there.
It is one of 400 lakes beneath the Antarctic ice - and experts say any life there could raise hopes of finding similar organisms deep inside Mars or on the ice-covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn.
The Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA) team said it took two days of drilling to reach Mercer Subglacial Lake on Dec. 26.
The team melted their way through an enormous frozen river with a high-pressure, hot-water drill.
'After four days of troubleshooting components that sustained wear and tear from sitting through two winters on ice, the Drill Team began drilling the main borehole on the evening of December 23 and reached the lake faster than expected at 10:30pm on December 26 with a borehole depth of 1084 meters,' it said.
A team of researchers — which includes 45 scientists, drillers and other staff members — with the organization were able to send an instrument down a borehole the next day.
They will also lower a remotely operated vehicle down the hole to capture more footage and take more extensive measurements.
It is hoped the submersible’s three video cameras might capture images of animals that live in the dark water.
'We don't know what's going to be there,' John Priscu, a lake ecologist at Montana State University in Bozeman and leader of the project told Nature.
Lead Driller Dennis Duling (right) and PI Brent Christner (left) with the hot water drill moments before it began its 4,000 foot journey downwards to Mercer Subglacial Lake
'That's what makes it so much fun.'
Some of the researchers drilled into a nearby, smaller subglacial pool called Lake Whillans in 2013, and found it teeming with microbes.
A team of researchers — which includes 45 scientists, drillers and other staff members — with the organization were able to send an instrument down a borehole the next day
The pool of water, known as Subglacial Lake Mercer, measures nearly 62 square miles, was discovered more than a decade ago through satellite images but has never been explored.
The group plans to study the depth, temperature and cleanliness of the lake over the next few days.
Part of the drilling process involves sampling the drill water to test its cleanliness.
The water has been tested twice thus far, and both tests showed the water was 'as clean as filtered water can get', in the words of SALSA PI Brent Christner.
Link hienalouca.com Interesting to note Looking for an investor or sponsor for a project to grow dinosaurs and relict plants. Requires the sum of investments from 400000$ to 900000$. The exact amount can not say because there are many nuances. It will be necessary to build a small laboratory with certain parameters. To all interested persons please write on an email angocman@gmail.com . It is the scientific project and I do not know whether it is possible to earn on it. The probability of success of the project is approximately 60%. That will be very interesting.
https://hienalouca.com/2019/01/01/scientists-drill-into-mysterious-antarctic-lake-under-3500-ft-of-ice-in-bid-to-find-if-life-exists/
Main photo article Scientists in Antarctica have finally drilled into a mysterious lake buried under more than 3,500 feet of ice in a bid to find out if life exists there.
Mercer Subglacial Lake is a hydraulically active lake that lies more 1000m beneath the Whillans Ice Plain, a fast moving section of the West ...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/31/22/7999074-6543291-image-a-29_1546296368249.jpg
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий