Antartica: US polar researchers reach Antarctic subglacial lake

A group of American explorers managed to reach an Antarctic subglacial lake,  WISSARD reports. Specialists had to drill a hole 801 meters deep. The drilling was carried out using a special technology, with hot sterile water. In the near future, American researchers are going to descend instruments and equipment into the lake to start sampling the water of the lake.

Whillans Lake is 643 km from the South Pole. American explorers arrived on the site in mid-January of this year and conducted a ten-day preparation for the drilling. After passing the mark of 700 meters, specialists slowed down the rate of drilling. Afterwards, the water level rose sharply. The further study of the well with the help of a camera confirmed the penetration into the lake.

In Antarctica, there are more than 300 subglacial lakes - at least those that have been confirmed. Exploring some of them is important to study the biology of extremophiles - the organisms capable of living in extreme conditions.

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The Environment - Global warming: Rate of warming in Antarctica is twice as imagined, says study

Researchers believe the plate temperature in the western region rose 2.4 degrees on average between 1958 and 2010... A new historical analysis of temperatures in West Antarctica revealed that the region suffers from heating at a rate twice faster than imagined.

U.S. researchers say they have found signs of warming during the summer in the western Antarctica ice sheet (WAIS, in English). They fear that the melting of ice, caused by higher temperatures, may contribute to an increase in sea level.

The study by the  scientists was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Scientists compiled data collected by the Byrd station, which was established by the U.S. government in West Antarctica in the 1950s.

Read more: Rate of warming in Antarctica is twice as imagined, says study - English pravda.ru