Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Overheated Earth update: Ice now only 12,000 feet thick in Antarctica

Winter Scuttles Effort to Reach Ancient Arctic Lake - Tech Talk - CBS News
In a race against the clock, Mother Nature won. A Russian team that has been toiling around the clock to pierce through to a sub-glacial lake in Antarctica is calling it quits - for now - because of harsh winter weather that's freezing their hydraulic tools.

The sub-glacial Lake Vostok is located at the bottom of a 12,000 foot-thick ice sheet in Antarctica but the project leaders reported the evacuation of its team 29.53 meters short of the final destination. They plan to resume their work next spring, when temperatures allow them to again use their drills. Lake Vostok has some of the lowest recorded temperatures found anywhere, with the thermometer going as low as -129 degrees Fahrenheit.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ummmm. Typo I think. Last time I checked we should be in the middle of summer in Antarctica.