Scientists and researchers were left in awe after drilling beneath Antarctica. After countless deep excavation operations, they discovered "the first glimpse of life" hidden under the frozen continent for millennia.
The frozen continent serves as a scientific information mine for more than 1,000 researchers around the year, who monitor climate change and study Earth's history. Its barren landscape gives them access to an unspoiled world, where they can complete their research, despite temperatures dropping to as low as -90C, as reported by Express UK.
Following more than a decade of planning, scientist Dr. John Priscu led a team of researchers to drill through the overlying ice sheet and sample the waters of a proposed lake hidden beneath the Antarctic ice sheet.
He said: "We joined up with NASA, and using satellite images, we could see flat spots all over the continent, and this is where the ice sheet floats over these lakes.
"That was our first impression of these lakes, so we count them up, and we know there are some vast lakes out there - it's not just this big block of stable ice.
The team, using satellites, can see the surface of the ice going up and down by measuring the satellite altimetry over time, and they can define rivers flowing underneath the ice sheet.
Scientists drilled below the ice
They have gathered both direct and indirect evidence that points to the idea of river systems present in the area. The same systems that typically comes from highlands like rocky mountain streams.
Dr. Priscu revealed the difficulties of getting to the South Pole to investigate the area they called Lake Whillians. He even playfully claimed that the expedition is the hardest and most significant camping he has ever been in his entire life.
The team flew to McMurdo station and set up there. Then, they had to get all of their stuff 800 miles to the site over the lake using some tractors that can survive the weather conditions. It took them two weeks to get to the field site.
They theorized that there was a water source beneath the ice. The ecology explained how they drilled below the ice.
They built a city or town-like field camp out in the middle of the Antarctic ice sheet. The work spanned for around three weeks of nonstop round the clock drilling because of how they intend to maintain the hole's conditions.
The science budget was £10.5million for the project; the drill was £3million. It was a special drill that could bore down very quickly.
Related Article: Antarctic: Ocean's Cold at the Surface, but Scorching Deep Down
Discovery
NASA snapped, 'something rising above the ice.'
"We got to the bottom, and there was a lake there. 30 years of ideas, thinking this isn't a dead place, over 12 years of suggesting about the presence of lakes and rivers and there they were."
Antarctica's subglacial environment's groundbreaking exploration marked the beginning of a new era in polar science, opening the window for future interdisciplinary scientific investigations of one of Earth's last unexplored frontiers.
The team's goal is to change the way the Antarctic region is perceived by the population. For years the area was labeled dead and cold. Now, the researchers are showing how vital the frozen lands are to the scientific community.
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