While many scientists and space enthusiasts (such as myself) dream of discovering life on other planets (and for good reason), I also have been following a different endeavor right here on this planet that could discover strange new life forms within the next year. Yes, it involves water and going deep, but it is not what you would guess. It is the attempt to “break into” the under-ice worlds of Antarctica.

Go for a past blog entry about this topic and the controversy. The biggest lake underneath the Antarctic ice is Lake Vostok and it has probably been sealed off from the rest of the world for at least 15 million years. That is plenty of time for life to evolve differently than it has here on the surface. The controversy about Vostok is over how the Russia science team stationed there has been drilling through the ice in order to investigate what lies beneath. They have been using older drilling technology that requires kerosene and freon. The hole they have drilled contains 60 tons of these chemicals and many international scientists are worried that once they crack through into the liquid part of the lake they will contaminate or kill any life that might exist down there. The Russian team claims to have a procedure in place so that the contamination does not occur and theorize that the pressure in the lake will push the chemicals back upward toward the surface. Not everyone is convinced, but we will find out soon. The Russian team only has a few meters left to go and will likely breach the lake later this year when it is Summer in Antarctica.

There are many other sub glacial lakes beneath the Antarctic ice sheet and at least one other will be subject to an attempt to investigate life below. A UK research team will set up some supplies and equipment near Lake Ellsworth this year, and in October of 2012, use more advanced hot water drilling technology to send a robotic probe into the lake. They hope to take a core sample of lake sediment as well.

Kurt Russel in "the Thing" - 1982

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Some scientists are not only worried about contaminating what lies beneath but also about contaminating the surface. Some of the more extreme speculation involves the spread of some new disease. The odds of this are very remote. Most likely it will be very boring. Some bacteria or plankton might be discovered. I don’t think we have to worry about anything like in the Thing - an above average thriller movie (if you like scary movies) about an alien life form living in Antarctica.

Have a good Monday! Meteorologist Justin Loew.

Posted under Arctic climate, Nature