Archive

Lake Vostok Reached

6 Feb ’12 | Posted by Henry in glaciology| 1 comment

Reports are circulating that the Russian team drilling into Lake Vostok have finally reached their target, just in time before the onset of the Antarctic winter. The total depth drilled through the ice sheet stands at 3,768 metres, though this information is still yet to be confirmed. Lake Vostok has remained sealed off from the [...]

Bottom thickening of the EAIS

22 Apr ’11 | Posted by Henry in glaciology| 0 comments

A study recently published in Science has prompted a radical rethink on how ice-sheets evolve and accumulate ice. The potential discovery of a new physical mechanism suggests that ice extensively melts and re-freezes at the base of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, enough so to change the shape and elevation of the ice-surface. Radar imagery [...]

Lake Vostok soon to be penetrated

19 Jan ’11 | Posted by Henry in glaciology| 1 comment

UPDATE 10 Feb: Drilling this year stopped on 5th Feb at 3720.47 metres – just 29.53 metres short. The Russians will resume again in Dec 2011. Lake Vostok, which lies 4 km underneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, has remained isolated for the last 14 million years. However, Russian scientists are now ~100 m away [...]