What creatures are lurking beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet?
Today, I was reading about how Russian scientists will be exploring an icebound lake located over two miles beneath Antarctica’s frozen surface. The lake is not only filled with fresh water that’s millions of years old, but it’s also filled with untouched information for scientists to examine. “It’s like exploring an alien planet where no one has been before. We don’t know what we’ll find,” said Valery Lukin of Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) in St. Petersburg.
British and United States explorers are also out to study other sub-glacial lakes in the area. Today there are roughly 145 of these sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica for scientists to explore. Two factors work together to ensure the water doesn’t freeze in these lakes. One is that the Antarctic ice sheets covering these lakes contain the earth’s geothermal heat and that’s what keeps the lakes from freezing. The other factor is the ice encasing the lake exerts enormous pressure on the water, which acts to lower the freezing point.
With these lakes being one of the last areas of unexplored territory on the planet it will be truly exciting to see what mysterious new life forms they uncover. Not to mention all the data scientists will have that may help to trace back previous life. My imagination is working on all the possibilities.
I think this scientific discovery has all the makings of a great Sci-Fi movie. The possibilities range from exposing some form of ancient alien spores to unleashing a hoard of prehistoric cryptid beasts. However, I think this might only happen in the movies.
Imaginings aside, this discovery does have the potential to lead to some serious scientific breakthroughs that could cause us to reassess some of the things we always assumed were fact. Believe It Tour will be keeping an eye on the latest developments for you.