After 30 Years of Drilling, Researchers reach Antarctic Lake

rt.com

23 points·dclaysmith··10 comments

Specialists [..] predict they will find “the only giant super-clean water system on the planet.” The pristine water will be “twice cleaner than double-distilled water,” they believe.

Can anyone shed light on this claim? I understand why it would be clear of pollution, waste, germs, etc. but is there any particular reason it would not contain salts, minerals, etc?

I think it's almost obligatory to link A Colder War every time this story comes up: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm

(Warning: Creepy.)

Why did it take 30 years to dig 4km?

It's explained quite well in the article. It took that long for the technology to come along that ensures we don't pollute this pristine ecosystem when we breach.

Better article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979

Because for the first two decades they were there, they didn't know a lake existed and they weren't drilling.

Days later, a husky is seen running in the snow from a helicopter.

Sorry, could you explain that?

I think it's a reference to the opening scene of the movie 'The Thing' starring Kurt Russell. (Spoiler: It's about an alien lifeform which start infecting researchers at a polar research station)

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com