Sub Glacial Lake Could Mean Extraterrestrial Life

Antarctica is the coldest areas of the world with temperatures

dipping below negative 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of this, 98%
of the continent is covered in a massive ice sheet. If melted this ice
sheet alone would raise sea levels all over the world more than 200
feet. Not only the bitter temperature, but also the chilling wind and 6
months straight of darkness make Antarctica borderline inhabitable.
This is deliberately shown in the fact that the only life on
Antarctica is mostly composed of invertebrates. There has been a
recorded 235 species of animals that exist on this continent. Giant
squids, whales, seals, and birds are some of the larger more rare
animals; most of these animals are not native to the Antarctic,
although. These animals found their way into the Antarctic regions
from southern oceans surrounding the continents waters.
The vegetation is very limited on the continent as well. The lack
of sunlight is the most devastating to plant life in the Antarctic. Also,
the little soil found is low in moisture and nutrients from the lack of
water, although ironic because of amount of water around and
consisted of in the continent. The plant life found, excluding fungi and
algae, is mostly composed of mosses. The 100 species of mosses are
generally only around for 6 months of the year when the sun is out. As
well as the mosses, a total of two flowering plant species have been
discovered that are around for a few weeks during the summertime.

Antarcticas geography is also quite unique. The continent is

divided by a range of mountains uniquely named the Transantarctic
Mountains. The continent symmetrically surrounds the South Pole, and
is the southernmost continent in the world, which makes the climate
extremely cold. Even though it is the coldest place in the world, it does
contain some active volcanoes. Mount Erebus is the most notable
because of the fact that it is the worlds most southern volcano. It is
still very active and frequently spews lava onto the glaciers that
surrounds it. Also, there are more than 140 sub glacial lakes that lie
beneath the ice sheet. The largest and most notable glacial lake, Lake
Vostok was recently reached by the Russian Vostok station. After 20
years of drilling, scientists finally were able to withdraw a sample of
the long lost lake. The lake is reported to be untouched for almost 20
million years. Vostok resides more than 13,000 feet underground,
which is more than the height of some of the notable mountains
around the world.
Lake Vostok is a sub glacial lake; therefore it is a liquid lake that
resides under a glacier or ice sheet. Lake Vostok is Russian for East
Lake, and is the largest sub glacial lake in the Antarctic. It is 250
kilometers long, or about 156 miles, and 50 km, or 30 miles, wide. It is
similar in size and shape of the surface of lake Ontario, but it is 3 times
as deep. The lake is divided into two basins by a ridge down the
middle. At the ridge, the water depth is about 650 feet deep. In the

northern basin, the lake is approximately 1,300 feet deep, but in the
southern basin, the depth is twice that of the northern.
Lake Vostok is made entirely of fresh water; therefore the lake
would seem to freeze under all the ice and the absence of salt. This is
especially theoretic because of the below freezing temperature of the
water in the lake at negative 3 degrees Celsius. Although; the pressure
from the ice sheet above the water, the constant movement, and the
geothermal heat from the earth all keep the water warm enough to
stay liquid. The constant motion of the water comes from the tidal
force of the lake that was discovered in April of 2005. The surface of
the water only rises and falls between one and two centimeters, but it
does rise and fall at a constant rate. Such tidal forces are very
necessary for the survival of any type of organisms to live, especially
microorganisms because of their need of an outside force in order to
move around the lake. The waves occur because of the position of the
sun and moon, just like all other tidal forces throughout the world.
Inside the lake, the conditions are quite unique. Through
thorough research, scientists have come up with a hypothesis that the
lake contains two separate eco systems. This is because the ridge
sends opposing tidal forces into the two basins, therefore no
interference between such basins could occur. This would result in
different biological and chemical compositions between the two basins.
Also, the lake is very oligotrophic in the sense that it contains very high

pressure and oxygen levels. The pressure comes from the large ice
sheet covering the lake putting its weight onto the lake. Also, the lake
is very saturated in oxygen. The oxygen levels in the lake are upwards
of 50 times higher than that of a typical freshwater lake on the surface.
The high levels are because of the pressure from the sheet creating a
bubble in the ice that is attempting to expand because of the ice
melting. Therefore oxygen and hydrogen are trapped in this bubble.
The high oxygen level has made researching the ecosystems and
organisms quite difficult. This is because when attempting to extract
from a high-pressure bubble without letting any pressure out. Which
would be similar to removing a sample of soda from a bottle when it
has been shaken up for almost a million years; without letting the any
of the air out of the bottle. Also, when bringing the samples of water
out, the organisms may die because of the lack of oxygen they will
encounter on the surface.
As well as the high pressure and oxygen, an island has been
found near the center of the lake. Although the composition of the
island is unknown, the sonar readings show there is an island. More
than likely, the island is composed of a mixture of sediment and ice
that has floated from the bedrock located under the lake.
Life within the lake has been found, but it is minuscule. Some
microbial organisms of Hydrogenophilus thermoluteolus have been
found in the ice core drillings of the deeper parts of the lake. Scientists

know very little of these types of microbial organisms other than the
fact that they are a family of Betaproteobacteria. There is likely to be
other organisms surrounding these Betaproteobacteria because of the
slight increase of temperature from the geothermal heat at the depths
of the lake.
This small sign of life has made scientists very excited for the
chance of extraterrestrial life on other planets. The conditions of the
Lake Vostok have shown very similar conditions to a moon of Jupiter
named Europa.
The moon is much like the conditions of the lake for many
reasons. First off the moon has a solid ice sheet for a surface much like
Antarctica. Under that sheet, liquid water is in abundance all around
the planet. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. Therefore it
creates a massive magnetic stress on its moons. For Europa, this
means high tidal forces. Measured to be much higher than that of Lake
Vostok. Also, Jupiter gives off enough heat in order to keep the water
liquid on the moon. The way the rotation of the moon and Jupiter
combine to keep the moon in the view of the sun for thousands of
years.
Although, these conditions didnt cause the scientists to believe
for life on the moon. What was the biggest sign for life is the
permeability of the ice. The ridges on the surface show evidence of
cracks throughout the ice. These cracks to may lead to enough

thinness of the ice to let some sunlight come through to the oceans.
Therefore the sunlight may let plant life in the water partake in
photosynthesis. Also, the internal friction from the tides on the ice and
underwater volcanoes may lead to enough heat for the plant life and
possible organisms to survive.
After newly developed research and an ongoing investigation,
scientists are hopeful for the newly found lake. Lake Vostok has excited
extraterrestrial investigators because of the presence of life without
the helpful conditions shown on that of Europa. Will extraterrestrial life
be found; only time can tell. With todays technology, the investigation
of new life will be imminent and exciting.

References
Hydrogenophilaceae - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenophilaceae
Lake Vostok - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Vostok
Lake Vostok Antarctica. (n.d.). Pegasus Research Consortium. Retrieved
March 4, 2012, from
http://www.thelivingmoon.com/41pegasus/02files/Lake_Vostok02
.html
Life on Antarctica: Animals. (n.d.). ThinkQuest : Library. Retrieved
March 4, 2012, from
http://library.thinkquest.org/26442/html/life/animal.html
Opening of Antarctic's Lake Vostok May Reveal Life from Earth's 20Million-Year Past . (n.d.). The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries
Channel: Sci, Space, Tech. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from
http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2012/02/russianscientists-reach-lake-under-antarcticagigantic-freshwaterreservoir-may-harbor-life-from-earths-distant-pastrussian-r.html
The Lost World Of Lake Vostok. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved March 4, 2012,
from
http://www.mazalien.com/the-lost-world-of-lake-vostok.html