A huge unknown lake has been found under Antarctica. Free Technical Library News

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Huge unknown lake found under Antarctica

01.05.2016

Antarctic ice hides under itself an unknown lake 100 km long.

Such subglacial lakes are of great interest to science, as they may harbor unique forms of life, locked in isolation from the rest of the world for millions of years. Although not larger than Lake Vostok (Vostok is 240 km long and 60 km wide), the new lake is much closer to the research stations and will be easier to approach and study in detail, says Martin Sigert, a member of the team that discovered new geographical feature.

The guess about the existence of the lake is based on satellite images, where scientists have identified grooves on the surface of the ice that exactly match those observed above the already known subglacial lakes and channels. "We saw these strange lines on the surface and from them we suggested that there are massive channels 1000 km long, as well as a relatively large subglacial lake," Siegert said.

He says that the new lake is about 100 km long and only 10 km wide, shaped more like a ribbon, and the long channels and canyons that emerge from it stretch for 1000 km along the east coast of Antarctica.

The guess about the existence of the lake is based on satellite images, where scientists have identified grooves on the surface of the ice that exactly match those observed above the already known subglacial lakes and channels. "We saw these strange lines on the surface and from them we suggested that there are massive channels 1000 km long, as well as a relatively large subglacial lake," Siegert said.

He says that the new lake is about 100 km long and only 10 km wide, shaped more like a ribbon, and the long channels and canyons that emerge from it stretch for 1000 km along the east coast of Antarctica.

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