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Science

First Look at the Bottom of the Lake Under a Glacier in Antarctica

Mar. 1, 2013 11:00pm Liz Klimas

Earlier this year, NASA successfully bored a 2,600-foot hole through an Antarctic glacier’s ice in their quest to reach its sub-glacial lake — a feat that took three days in and of itself. Next, they sent a camera down and have recently released the first footage of what the lake below the glacier looks like.

NASA Team Releases First Video of Antarctica Sub glacial Lake

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

What you’re looking at, as NASA Jet Propulsion Lab researcher Alberto Behar explained in the video, is a very fine sediment that only comes with the movement of a glacier over rocks. Behar said when the camera went down, they were surprised because the lake was much shallower than they expected — 1.6 meters instead of 10 meters.

The device used to explore the hole and the opening into Lake Whillans below is unique in and of itself. Micro-Submersible Lake Exploration Device. NASA describes the device, developed by the U.S. team of the international Whillans Ice Stream Sub-glacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project, as “instrument was a small robotic sub about the size and shape of a baseball bat.”

Here you’re seeing the inside of the borehole. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

“This is the first instrument ever to explore a sub-glacial lake outside of a borehole,” Behar said in a statement. “It’s able to take us places that are inaccessible by any other instruments in existence.”

Watch this video about the expedition – what it took get get there, to drill and to capture the footage:

From water samples collected by the team, they identified microbial life in the lake water. NASA stated that such a discovery could “important implications for the search for life elsewhere in the universe.”

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(H/T: GeekOSystem)

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Comments (64)

RamonPreston
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 3:07pm
Do you really think that NASA would have reported anything that goes against “standard science”? They show you these blurry pictures from Mars and want you to think they are they cutting edge of our technology.They could show you the pimple on a frog’s behind.

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- Tifn8r
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 4:53pm
  Uh uh Ramon,
  
  It’s a WART on the frog, on a bump, on a log, in the hole in the bottom of the sea.
  
  And a nerd running the expensive robot we paid for, filming it to try and prove his liberal education matters.
  
  Report this comment
- LetUsReason
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 12:25pm
  I like how he says, “This is one of the most remote locations in Antarctica.” Hahaha. Of course, you can only reach this location after maneuvering through a series of backroads, way outside the city center and far from Antarctic suburbia.
  
  Report this comment
Maximus_Delta
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:57pm
well, that was 2:08 wasted of my life….

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- majasdad
  Posted on March 3, 2013 at 3:51am
  That says more about you and your amazing life than the video.
  
  Report this comment
wilbstal
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:30pm
Ohhh Look for Jimmy Hoffa and Obama, oh thats right Obama is still around

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- RamonPreston
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:58pm
  Too bad.
  
  Report this comment
AlaskaBob
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 1:02pm
There have been recent notable successes in going through ice in Antarctica. The finest was retrieving a bottle of aged Scotch from the Shackleton camp site which had been buried in ice for a century and sampled to create a replica batch of the hard stuff. Now there is science and exploration coming together in perfect harmony.

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- drs1969
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:04pm
  Much better than most projects, for sure.
  
  Report this comment
shorelineliz
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 1:00pm
NASA: Wasting tax payer money one hole at a time.

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lostinatl
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 10:40am
How can we depend on them to know if there is any type of climate change when they think there is 10 meters of water at the bottom and there is only 1.7 meters. If you can’t tell what is at the bottom then you can not determine thickness. Which means you can not determine if we are gaining or losing ice. Global warming myths again.

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DZ-015
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 9:38am
I wonder if the Russians are doing something similar at the much larger Lake Vostok on the other side of Antarctica. The ice is much thicker, but they supposedly drilled through it last year or so.

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- LetUsReason
  Posted on March 4, 2013 at 12:30pm
  Yes, Lake Vostok is interesting. I’ve been waiting for updates on that.
  
  Report this comment
mrja
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 9:26am
Who cares about silt at the bottom of this lake, keep drilling and see if theres any oil

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- AbrahamsSheepdog
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 10:57am
  No sheet Sherlocks! Start pumping & building Refinery’s! Yesterday!!!
  
  Report this comment
KangarooJack
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 7:02am
Bottle it-sell it-and pay for a trip to Mars!

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woody4_rom828
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 5:10am
Again, science particularly NASA seems consumed with trying to make the case for possibility of life elsewhere, and for what actual goal? To advance science and knowledge or to finally say ahah! see the scriptures were wrong? Just sayin..

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 5:58am
  This may be beyond the realm of my theological knowledge- so correct me if i’m wrong- but i don’t believe the scriptures specifically discount the possibility of Extra Terrestrial life.
  
  Report this comment
- J144
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 6:57am
  Its another straw-man by the anti-God folks. Find life on another planet and it somehow “proves” evolution can occur. Why is there a frozen lake under ice that takes 3 days to drill through? See Walt Brown’s on-line book at creationscience.com. It also explains why we should find traces of water on Mars. Both stem from what was reported in the Bible (which is why liberal scientists say “we don’t know” we some of us do know.)
  
  Report this comment
- HOOT_OWL
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 8:20am
  If we had the money ,I would say let them look.
  My belief in God is so strong , that I know the only thing they would find is more proof of his existence . Not the little green men kind . God didn’t stop the Tower of Babble because they were in doubt of his existence. God put a stop to it ,because they wanted to be ‘like God’ . Satan tried this too and it doesn’t end well for him either.
  
  BUT, since we are flat flipping broke ,if someone wants to search the heavens, let them do it on their own dime. Not ours.
  
  Report this comment
- Bullitt2008
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 8:26am
  The “lake” was only 1.6 instead of 10 meters as they expected. More evidence of global warming (it was global cooling in the early 70′s)! The inside scoop is that NASA is actually looking for organisms to develop something they are calling Soylent Green.
  
  Report this comment
- 13th Imam
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 9:07am
  Ah, Cold Water
  
  Report this comment
- WakeUp
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 10:08am
  True, but it is also true that the bible simply does not mention life or non existance of life elsewhere. But God haters spend all their time on wild goose chases because they mistakenly think that science and God are mutually exclusive. Actually, science has has been driven throughout the centuries by religious people, and as we learn more, science does more to “prove” God and has never found anything to disprove it.
  
  Atheists see science and God as opposing views. People that believe in God see science as a search for understanding of Gods methods.
  
  Report this comment
- capitalismrocks
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 10:10am
  Why would the scriptures be wrong? God created the universe, are we to think that he made a vaste universe that is billions of light years wide and put only 1 planet within it with life? That God didn’t seed the entire universe with various planets with life, and that one day we would reach out and find our other brothers and connect with them? I mean really, to think so narrowly that Earth would be the one and only place God would place man is a very closed way of thought.
  
  Report this comment
- Soulfire1975
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:18pm
  Wouldn’t make scriptor wrong, just proves even more about God creating the universe and he is everywhere.
  
  Report this comment
- HOOT_OWL
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:31pm
  capitalismrocks
  Your idea of another planet with brothers and sisters ,doesn’t stand up to biblical teachings .
  Jesus had to die only once for the sins of the world. Now if your referring to heavenly bodies,
  angels and such .whole different story.
  
  Report this comment
- Witness1974
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 1:34pm
  HootOwl: I agree with all you said in this section. The space program, whatever it started out to be, is now a prove evolution project. I don’t appreciate the billions of dollars spent on it when our existing terrestrial infrastructure is crumbling under our feet. As far as God making the universe with other life forms. I seriously doubt it. God didn’t need to make anything, and He certainly was under no obligation to use space to suit our idea of how it should be used. Anyone who is looking to reach out and pet ET better hurry. We’ve got a little over a thousand years left before He creates a new heaven and a new earth. A thousand of those years He will be ruling here on earth and I doubt finding water on Mars is going to be one of His priorities. There is enough to discover in the soul and its relationship to God to keep a person busy for many life times. As for me, it’s nice that God allowed us to have the Hubble telescope; there are some quite beautiful things to see out there that reflect His glory, but I already felt that way by looking at the array of stars visible from earth with the naked eye. For those who are looking to make an important discovery, discover God. That is what we are meant to do.
  “Question 1: What is the chief and higest end of man?
  Ans. Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him for ever” (Westminster Confession of Faith).
  
  Report this comment
- HOOT_OWL
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 4:27pm
  Witness1974 Well said.
  
  Report this comment
ssortors
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 3:29am
is it me or is there a statue of a naked chick with boobs on the bottom of the pic… or is it just me that sees shapes on mars and think there all alien in origin :P

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 5:59am
  That’s no statue….
  It’s Jimmy Hoffa!
  
  Report this comment
rochrealtor
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:36am
He likes talking about himself too…must have gone to Lib school with the great one!

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rochrealtor
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:34am
I love science…I don’t understand how they went so far with so much equipment to see 10″ of water!! “Where’s the Lake”

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- drs1969
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:12pm
  It was a ‘lake’ so they would get the funds from DC. Just like ‘The Sky’s Falling!, Global Warming’, so they can get everyone used to $10+ for a gallon of gas. Then they can take more of our money. Just another scam from DC.
  
  Report this comment
Fenrirsulfr
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:32am
Beware the Old Ones!

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- DZ-015
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 9:03am
  The Old Ones are at the Antarctic Mountains of Madness, not the Lake of Lunacy.
  
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Jetlander
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:18am
I must ask about the cost of this little exploration under the ice. I can’t imagine for a minute the cost would justify the potential scientific knowledge gained. Boy o’ boy are our priorities screwed up!

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- KickinBack
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:54am
  Because knowledge is priceless. I for one, would rather have the funds go to actual scientific exploration like in this article, rather than into welfare programs where it will be wasted.
  
  Report this comment
- Witness1974
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 1:39pm
  Kickinback: The average government “scientist” can’t pour water out of a boot with the instructions written on the heal. Even if they manage to sometimes stumble onto something they generally misinterpret it. I would rather the money stay in the hands of the people who earned than to go to either welfare or government backed science.
  
  Report this comment
Akridgerunner
Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:00am
There’s a lot more to this than what they’ve put here. I put in and ran the first camp that started this program off in 1983 and worked in the area a number of times after that. We drilled to the bottom of an ice stream and found ‘mud’, which was a first. Ian Whillans was an excellent glaciologist involved in this program and who passed away from cancer some years back. He was an excellent and dedicated professional and a good friend. This little blurb is not doing the program justice at all. Stay tuned I’d hope for more substantial information or do some homework on google scholar or the USAP website if you are genuinely interested.

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- Goldmember
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 5:14am
  Like what? Finer, cooler mud? Mud you can use to tale a wrinkles out of your behind? As my mudda in law says, get a grip!
  
  Report this comment
- Witness1974
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 6:40pm
  I would expect them to find remnats of tropical plants at the very least.
  
  Report this comment
whitealaskan
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:55pm
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration drilling under glaciers that’s funny.

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- Akridgerunner
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:03am
  Not unusual at all. NASA has been heavily involved for decades in drilling of ice streams and ice shelves in Antarctica. They also send rovers under the shelves to explore the bottom of the ice. Look at their website.
  
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- drs1969
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:16pm
  Remember the Muslim Outreach? Muslims are Space creatures,too!
  
  Report this comment
brigott
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:46pm
Finding microbial life in a lake on earth (where we know that there is virtually no place without microbial life) is going to tell them where to look for life elsewhere in the universe?

Typical evolutionist thinking, fo sho.

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- drs1969
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 2:21pm
  Back when they started this venture, they didn’t even know about volcanic ‘smokers’ at the bottom of the Atlantic. I don’t know who discovered those, but that is far more important than this. This whole thing is suspect. If you set up a project, all the way down there, you can skim a lot of money and no one will be the wiser.
  
  Report this comment
The_Almighty_Creestof
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:30pm
Dat’s where dat super H2O came from dat healed da Waterboy!

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Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:29pm
You know there is a bunch of rednecks out there saying “I bet there are fish there, and I am going to get em.”

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woodyee
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:24pm
Someones gonna say it…before me…

must resist…temptation…strong…fighting…

,,,fighting…overwhelming…must …ask…

Did they find Jimmy Hoffa?

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- Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
  Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:30pm
  They didn’t find Jimmy, but they did find Waldo.
  
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- KickinBack
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 12:56am
  C’mon woodyee. Did they find Jimmy Hoffa??? That’s not news!!…Oh no, you just made me say it!!! D’OH!
  
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- Zipit
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 8:24am
  No Hoffa, but they did find a thriving, bottom feeding culture, resembling the appearance of Obama, Reid, and Pelosi!
  
  Report this comment
Salamander
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:18pm
Send Joe Biden in there with his shotgun to stir things up a bit!

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Stoic one
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:13pm
Cool.. preparation for Io.

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- Chuck Stein
  Posted on March 2, 2013 at 1:41am
  Wouldn’t that be Europa?
  
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Recceman90
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:11pm
Looks like everything is dead down there….maybe global warming can correct that!

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banjarmon
Posted on March 1, 2013 at 11:11pm
Who would have thunk…Water makes glaciers!!!

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