Odd disappearance of Russian scientists at 20,000,000-year-old Antarctic lake

wfgodot

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Well, apparent disappearance, anyway. "Lost contact." In fine, a perfect tabloid feature.

Riddle of the Russian scientists drilling into 'alien' Antarctic lake buried
under ice for 20 million years who have been out of radio contact for five days
(Daily Mail)
A team of Russian scientists has mysteriously lost contact with colleagues in the U.S. as they drill into a lake buried beneath the Antarctic ice for 20 million years.

The scientists had been battling conditions of minus 66C at Lake Vostok, as they raced to drill into a lake buried two miles beneath the ice before the weather closed in. The scientists hope the lake's untouched water will reveal more about life on our planet 20 million years ago.
This lake - why is it referred to as "alien"?
The lake, in the most inhospitable region of the planet, is kept liquid by geothermal heat under the ice and its conditions are often described as 'alien' because they are thought to be akin to the subterranean lakes on Jupiter's moon Europa.
What horror movie might this remind us of??
Their radio silence has conjured chilling echoes of classic horror film The Thing, where scientists dig up a buried spacecraft in the Antarctic ice, only to unleash an extraterrestrial horror within.
---
more, with plenty o' pictures, at DM link above
 
so why didn't they send a rescue plane the first day they lost radio contact? why wait five days, when it is almost too late for a plane to even land there?

if, say, an accident happened on day one & they needed medical help, it might be too late

if, say, one of them snapped & hurt the other, it might be too late

something's fishy with this story & whatever it is, it's now probably 'too late' for these scientists but I hope I'm wrong!
 
I guess I should stop complaining about the -20 temperatures we get here. Fascinating stuff. Never heard of this before now. Thanks for posting it.
 
Russian scientists seeking Lake Vostok lost in frozen 'Land of the Lost'?

A group of Russian scientists plumbing the frozen Antarctic in search of a lake buried in ice for tens of millions of years have failed to respond to increasingly anxious U.S. colleagues -- and as the days creep by, the fate of the team remains unknown.

"No word from the ice for 5 days," Dr. John Priscu -- professor of ecology at Montana State University and head of a similar Antarctic exploration program -- told FoxNews.com via email.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012...en-land-lost/?intcmp=features?test=latestnews
 
Even before I read the links I am reminded they have a remake of The Thing. Is it time for it to come out on DVD or something? (I'm a huge fan of the original and abhor computer generated special effects-- I won't be partaking. lol) Yes, I'm jaded, nothing is real news anymore, or so it seems.

I do hope these folks are safe... it's a harsh place at all times.

Now, I'll read. :D
 
That was such a great documentary! Thanks for sharing . . . will be keeping my eyes out for more information in the next few years
 
Thank you for sharing, myself, hubby and the kids were glued to the computer :)

We haven't had a chance to watch it through yet. My Husband is going to connect a HDMI cable from his laptop to our TV so we can lay in bed and watch it on our TV (hah we're lazy like that!)

(or you can use a SVGA cable too for that but we use HDMI cable)

Love using the TV as a moniter haha.
 
DH and I have been listening to updates (updates of no rescue )-: ) regarding this situation on Coast to Coast Radio KFI 940 with George Noory and other guest hosts.
I love this radio show because they explore such an eclectic list of subjects.
 
DH and I have been listening to updates (updates of no rescue )-: ) regarding this situation on Coast to Coast Radio KFI 940 with George Noory and other guest hosts.
I love this radio show because they explore such an eclectic list of subjects.



I use to love listening to george nooray on coast to coast am back when it was on am 640 .Iam well like the name says canadian so am 640 leafs talk was where you would listen to hear sports stuff mostly about the leafs anyway at midnight when coast to coast would come on i liked to listen to it while i was laying down and usually the stories would put me to sleep.lol he has always had some pretty way out there guests and topics like stuff i couldn't even dream up anyway wanted to say ya i know the show your talkin about and this topic is pretty cool..
 
I use to love listening to george nooray on coast to coast am back when it was on am 640 .Iam well like the name says canadian so am 640 leafs talk was where you would listen to hear sports stuff mostly about the leafs anyway at midnight when coast to coast would come on i liked to listen to it while i was laying down and usually the stories would put me to sleep.lol he has always had some pretty way out there guests and topics like stuff i couldn't even dream up anyway wanted to say ya i know the show your talkin about and this topic is pretty cool..

Thanks, CanManEh!
How funny! DH and I listen to Coast to Coast every night. It entertains us as we go to sleep... And we often wake up to it, too! We bring an emergency radio when we go camping and on trips for safety and so we can listen to coast to coast! DH looks up the radio stations we will be able to catch c to c on our travels! The people and subjects discussed can be bizarre!
BTW...I have only been to Canada once...when we were coming back from an Alaska cruise. I LOVED Canada, and want to go back again!

Sorry for the O/T Sleuthers!
 
It all sounded like a tabloid invention, that "lost" thing (not only the Daily Mail but Fox News championed the possibility). Fortunately, the story maintains its interest-level, in spite of circumstantial uncertainties:

Fox Flub: Russian Vostok Lake Scientists Safe (usnews.com)
The team of Russian scientists trying to uncover the prehistoric Lake Vostok miles beneath a surface of Antarctic ice are not lost, according to American Antarctic explorer John Priscu.

"I can assure you that they are not lost or out of contact," he wrote in an email. "I never said the Russians were lost."
---
more about what the scientists are up to at link above
 
Thats a relief. Good in a way about the hoax. My family learned something new :)
 
Daily Mail has finally figured out that the story of the scientists being "lost" won't play anymore, and now is stressing the hard work ahead of them as the window of opportunity closes:

We know where they are! Antarctic explorer says Russian scientists drilling at 'alien'
underground lake are safe but still 'working round the clock' as polar winter looms

• Antarctic summer will come to an end within days - team's last chance to leave the station
• Conditions in lake similar to lakes on moons of Saturn and Jupiter
• Remote station recorded coldest-ever temperature on earth: -89C
• Lake has had no contact with man-made pollutants or Earthly life forms for millions of years
much more, text, pics, etc., at DM link above
 
Well, apparent disappearance, anyway. "Lost contact." In fine, a perfect tabloid feature.

Riddle of the Russian scientists drilling into 'alien' Antarctic lake buried
under ice for 20 million years who have been out of radio contact for five days
(Daily Mail)

This lake - why is it referred to as "alien"?

What horror movie might this remind us of??

more, with plenty o' pictures, at DM link above
Hah!As soon as I read the title of the thread my mind was conjuring up images of 'The Thing'.
 
Hah!As soon as I read the title of the thread my mind was conjuring up images of 'The Thing'.

Thought I'd check in here just in case this was an Alien Vs. Predator situation, rather than a shameless plug for The Thing-- because, obviously, that would be superduper bad.

Pfft. Way to take good scientific work and "scare" with it, Fox.


:cool:
 

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