* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Lake Ellsworth

Blobrana · L

Lake Ellsworth Antarctic drilling project called off

An ambitious mission to drill through 3km of Antarctic ice to a lake that has been sealed off for thousands of years has been cut short.
The team at Lake Ellsworth decided to call off the mission in the early hours of Christmas Day UK time.
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Blobrana · L

Lake Ellsworth Antarctic lake drilling set to restart

A tiny electronic component the size of a thumbnail holds the key to the future of an £8m search for life beneath the ice of Antarctica.
The project to drill through the ice-sheet to reach the hidden waters of Lake Ellsworth has been on hold for the past week after a boiler broke down.
The component just arrived after a journey of roughly 15,000km.
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Blobrana · L

Lake Ellsworth: Mission to the Antarctic's lost world

A team of British scientists, engineers and logistics experts has launched a daring attempt to hunt for life deep beneath the Antarctic ice. The research project will see the group drill 3.2km down to Lake Ellsworth - hidden for hundreds of thousands of years. Click on the labels below to find out more about the mission and life at the drilling camp.
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Blobrana · L

Lake Ellsworth: Drilling effort runs into trouble

A British attempt to search for life in an ancient lake beneath the Antarctic ice-sheet has run into trouble. The team has reported "a serious problem" with the main boiler used to heat the water that powers a drill.
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Blobrana · L

Lake Ellsworth drilling: First images emerge

New pictures from Antarctica capture the moment that a search for life under the ice-sheet finally got under way.
The project to investigate Lake Ellsworth involves using a hot-water drill, aiming for waters isolated for up to half a million years.
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Blobrana · L

British team set to access and sample one of Earth's last unexplored environments

A British team of scientists and engineers will realise a 16-year ambition to drill through more than 3km of Antarctic ice into an ancient buried lake - and Durham University members of the team are eagerly awaiting the results.
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Blobrana · L

Drilling begins at lake hidden beneath Antarctic

A British research team in Antarctica has launched a long-awaited project to hunt for life in a lake hidden beneath the ice-sheet. A team of 12 scientists and engineers has begun work at remote Lake Ellsworth.
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Blobrana · L

Antarctic 'lost world' to be explored

Final checks are under way in Antarctica before the launch of a daring attempt to investigate an ancient lake beneath the ice-sheet.
Lake Ellsworth lies below ice that is at least 3.2km thick.
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Blobrana · L

British team set to embark on ambitious Antarctic mission to penetrate & sample ancient buried lake

After 16 years of planning the countdown is on for one of the most ambitious scientific missions to Antarctica. In October a 12-man team of British scientists, engineers and support staff will make the 16,000 km journey from the UK to go deep into the heart of the frozen continent to collect samples of water and sediments from an ancient lake buried beneath three kilometres of ice. Their quest is to reveal vital secrets about the Earth's past climate and discover life forms may that live in subglacial Lake Ellsworth on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
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