Who goes there?

[Korachia]

Very interesting article about exploration of a subglacial lake..  and a radio silent Russian polar-research team!

World holds its breath for Russian scientists drilling in Antarctic - as they try to find 'alien' underground lake before Tuesday 'date of no return'

 
The scientific community is holding its breath for a team of Russian scientists that has been out of contact with colleagues in the U.S for six days, as they drill into a lake buried beneath the Antarctic ice for 20 million years.

They have to evacuate their station by Tuesday - when winter proper kicks in and temperatures start to drop to an inhospitable minus 90C. The scientists are currently battling conditions of up to minus 66C at Lake Vostok as they raced to drill into a lake buried two miles beneath the ice before the weather closed in.
They were hoping water in the lake, the most inhospitable region of the planet, would reveal more about ancient life on our planet - but they have fallen silent just days before the deadly winter is due to begin.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095193/Lake-Vostok-Russian-scientists-drilling-alien-Antarctic-lake-buried-20m-years.html

[MuffinMan]

[Lakov_Sanite]

They dug too deep...

[01101010]

I take it they didn't read The Mountains of Madness.

[Murgos]

For some reason the classic movie The Thing comes to mind...

[schild]

As opposed to the 2011 remake?

I feel like the phrase "classic movie" was a bit unnecessary there. At least I hope everyone here knows The Thing.

[Ironwood]

Know it ?  I married it.

[ghost]

I love the box that has "keep frozen" written on it. 

[cironian]

I love the box that has "keep frozen" written on it. 

If I was there, I'd totally add three exclamation marks and a big skull icon to that one.

[pants]

"They have to evacuate their station by Tuesday - when winter proper kicks in and temperatures start to drop to an inhospitable minus 90C."

Wut?  Its February - its still summer.

I realise its a Daily Mail story, and in comparison to reviving ancient evils from under the ice getting the weather right is a minor detail, but really. 

[Ghambit]

Also, when did Winter suddenly have a drop dead date?  If they've got the weather, they can leave... simple as that. 
Good way to gain some publicity for the team though.

[Sky]

I hope everyone here knows The Thing.

[Yegolev]

[01101010]

I can't think of a movie I did not like with Kurt in it. Me and my man-crush.

[Yegolev]

Escape from L.A.?

[Ghambit]

[DraconianOne]

That link is to the Daily Mail. Knowing them, they read "Deception Point" by Dan Brown and decided it would make a decent story.

[Yegolev]

We are now talking about Kurt Russell or John Carpenter.

[01101010]

Seems they breached it

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/lake-vostok-drilled/

[ghost]

So these lakes were formed back in the days of global warming?   

[Ghambit]

This is the kind of thing that if I were project lead I'd lease out ROV time to richfolk with money to burn.   Let them do the exploration and pay for it whilst I sat drinking hot rum-apple cider in a wunzy.  Anyways, next year we'll get the swimming robots down there (probably the prototype for the proposed Europa mission actually; the designer has been testing for such a thing the past few yrs).

Even if they find nothing, the fact they can test a spaceborn probe terrestrially is a huge advantage for a later mission to Europa or Enceladus.

[pxib]

So these lakes were formed back in the days of global warming?   

Nope, they're formed by pressure. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid. That's why ice floats. So adding pressure tends to liquidfy it, which is why ice is slippery: your weight (especially if you focus it by wearing skate blades) melts a bit of ice and creates a layer of liquid which drops friction.

The weight of a mile of ice creates a larger layer than that.

[Cyrrex]

So what you are saying is that the scientist are down there Ice Skating.

[Sky]

SCIENCE!

[Johny Cee]

 

I have "She Blinded Me with Science" stuck in my head now.

[Ghambit]

So these lakes were formed back in the days of global warming?   

Nope, they're formed by pressure. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense as a solid than as a liquid. That's why ice floats. So adding pressure tends to liquidfy it, which is why ice is slippery: your weight (especially if you focus it by wearing skate blades) melts a bit of ice and creates a layer of liquid which drops friction.

The weight of a mile of ice creates a larger layer than that.

They're saying this particular lake was formed when Antarctica was in Australia's location.  The pressure merely maintained it in a liquid state.  'Course, it coulda dried out back then filled in with ice/snow and then liquified later.  Regardless though, it's some damned old water.