Wake up ppl

Hey ppl wake up n post some more. . Ramadan doesn't mean laziness. . Do write something interesting that we can all read n enjoy n learn from. . I'm bored . .

heheheheh gypsy .... why dont u make people post then

Damn Interesting Raiders of the Lost Lake


In the early 1990s, a Russian drilling rig encountered something
peculiar two miles beneath the coldest and most desolate place on
Earth. For decades, the workers at Vostok Research Station in
Antarctica had been extracting core samples from deep scientific
boreholes, and analyzing the lasagna-like layers of ice to study
Earth's bygone climate. But after tunneling through 414,000 layers or
so– about two miles into the icecap– the layers abruptly ended. The ice
below that depth was relatively clear and featureless, a deviation the
scientists were at a loss to explain. In search of answers, the men
drilled on.
Unbeknownst to the Russians, their drill had
mingled with the uppermost reaches of one of the largest freshwater
lakes in the world; a pristine pocket of liquid whose ecosystem was
separated from the rest of the Earth millions of years ago. As for what
sort of organisms might lurk in that exotic environment today, no one
can really be certain.
In prehistoric times the Antarctic
continent was much more temperate, with lush tropical foliage and
thriving wildlife. But millions of years ago the Earth's extra-flaky
crust caused the landmasses of Australia and South America to gradually
peel away from Antarctica, creating a ring of open sea around the
southernmost continent. This allowed a massive oceanic current to begin
encircling the pole, deflecting warmer northerly currents away from
Antarctica's shores. Without warm water to moderate the temperature, a
scab of polar ice developed over the formerly forested lands.


Roughly forty million years later, in 1996, the men and women of the
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) urged their Russian
colleagues to halt their indiscriminate drilling.




Airborne radar and satellite altimetry had finally managed to
penetrate the thick mound of ice over the south pole, and after
electromagnetically groping every rock and crevice in Antarctica, a
flat region 155 miles long and 31 miles wide was detected below Vostok
Station. As improbable as it seemed, SCAR researchers surmised that a
liquid lake must lie just below the Russians' steadily advancing bore
shaft. In order to avoid contaminating the huge lake with surface
bacteria and drilling chemicals, the tunneling had to be stopped.
Lake
Vostok was found to have approximately the same surface area as the
great Lake Ontario in North America, with more than thrice the depth.
Separated from sunlight by two miles of solid ice, the subglacial lake
is a place of profound darkness and bitter cold. The water temperature
is estimated at 3 degrees below zero Celsius, but it maintains a liquid
state due to the crushing weight of the polar ice slab; the temperature
at which water freezes is significantly lower under such phenomenal
pressure. It is also suspected that geothermal heat from the ground
below adds some ambient warmth. According to the ice cores extracted by
the Vostok Base scientists, the lonely lake has been sealed beneath the
ice for at least 500,000 years, but possibly as much as 25 million.
As
requested, the Russians temporarily suspended their drilling efforts
pending further study. Their borehole– which was filled with sixty tons
of kerosene and freon to prevent re-freezing– stopped within a mere 300
feet of the lake surface. The anomalous ice they had encountered turned
out to be lake water which had long ago frozen to the bottom of the
slowly migrating glacier. These ice samples provided a few insights
into the lake's anatomy, such as its lack of salt, and its absurd
overabundance of oxygen; under extreme pressures oxygen will more
readily dissolve in water. If the drilling over Vostok had continued
uninterrupted, thereby encroaching upon the liquid portion of the lake,
the hapless Russians might have been assaulted by a towering geyser of
ancient water and liberated oxygen due to the astonishing pressure of
the hidden body of water.


In the wake of the lake's discovery, there arose considerable debate
regarding the likelihood of finding life there. The environment is
remarkably similar to the dark and cold ocean below the surface of
Jupiter's ice moon Europa, so the discovery of life in Vostok
could have interesting extraterrestrial implications. Due to the cold,
the complete absence of sunlight, and the toxic levels of oxygen, many
scientists are certain that Lake Vostok is sterile. That, however,
would be a scientific first, since never before has a completely
lifeless body of water been found on Earth. Extremophile
organisms have turned up in the unlikeliest of places, including within
volcanic vents on the ocean floor, in the rocks deep in the Earth's
crust, and in frozen arctic soil.
It is not unreasonable to
suggest that cold-tolerant creatures could thrive in the waters of Lake
Vostok, overcoming the oxygen saturation with extraordinary natural
antioxidants. But millions of years of evolutionary isolation in an
extreme environment may have created some truly bizarre organisms. This
notion is supported by the ice samples drawn from the ice just above
Lake Vostok, where some unusual and unidentifiable microbial fossils
have been found. But the possibility that they are merely contaminates
has not yet been completely ruled out.
At present, a number of
researchers are mulling over methods to investigate the lake's unique
ecosystem without defiling its pristine nature. The introduction of any
organisms or chemicals from the surface could irreversibly pollute its
waters, and there is a small but real possibility that the lake's alien
organisms could be dangerous to humans. To date, the best candidate
seems to be the cryobot, a fittingly phallic penetrating probe
designed to gingerly work its way into the virgin lake. Its heated tip
would melt a channel straight into the ice as it unspools a power and
communications line behind it. The melted water would quickly re-freeze
behind the cryobot in temperatures which linger around minus 100
degrees Fahrenheit, and once it finally reached the water it would
eject a small submersible hydrobot to capture images and take measurements.


Though most scientists are proceeding with considerable caution, and
some advocate avoiding the lake altogether, there are reports that the
Russian researchers intend to restart drilling in order to reach the
lake before their rivals. The Antarctic Treaty of 1961
guarantees all nations the right to conduct non-military scientific
study on the continent, therefore little can be done to intervene if
the men at Vostok station insist upon proceeding. Several smaller lakes
have since been identified beneath the Antarctic icecap, but geologists
speculate many of these are linked by a network of under-ice rivers, so
contaminating just one lake might taint them all beyond repair.
If
science seizes the opportunity to properly explore this perplexing
pocket of liquid, it would be equally enlightening whether there is a
plethora of life or a complete absence thereof. If the lake is found to
be sterile, its desolate waters will provide some measure of insight
into life's practical limitations. But if living things do indeed lurk
beneath the thick Antarctic icecap– even if only in microbial form–
their presence will demonstrate that life is made up of truly resilient
stuff, with scientific implications well beyond the scope of our planet.
regards,
getmywishes

Wow get my wishes . . That's one hell of an article. . But i'm still bored :s n romi tomi i cant hold a gun to ppl's head to post can i

Lord ppl post something na . . I tingle with anticipation wen i open the forum only to be disappointed to c very few posts. . Don u ppl feel bad that i'm getting bored? Lol

getmywishes wrote:Damn Interesting Raiders of the Lost Lake


In the early 1990s, a Russian drilling rig encountered something
peculiar two miles beneath the coldest and most desolate place on
Earth. For decades, the workers at Vostok Research Station in
Antarctica had been extracting core samples from deep scientific
boreholes, and analyzing the lasagna-like layers of ice to study
Earth's bygone climate. But after tunneling through 414,000 layers or
so– about two miles into the icecap– the layers abruptly ended. The ice
below that depth was relatively clear and featureless, a deviation the
scientists were at a loss to explain. In search of answers, the men
drilled on.
Unbeknownst to the Russians, their drill had
mingled with the uppermost reaches of one of the largest freshwater
lakes in the world; a pristine pocket of liquid whose ecosystem was
separated from the rest of the Earth millions of years ago. As for what
sort of organisms might lurk in that exotic environment today, no one
can really be certain.
In prehistoric times the Antarctic
continent was much more temperate, with lush tropical foliage and
thriving wildlife. But millions of years ago the Earth's extra-flaky
crust caused the landmasses of Australia and South America to gradually
peel away from Antarctica, creating a ring of open sea around the
southernmost continent. This allowed a massive oceanic current to begin
encircling the pole, deflecting warmer northerly currents away from
Antarctica's shores. Without warm water to moderate the temperature, a
scab of polar ice developed over the formerly forested lands.


Roughly forty million years later, in 1996, the men and women of the
Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) urged their Russian
colleagues to halt their indiscriminate drilling.




Airborne radar and satellite altimetry had finally managed to
penetrate the thick mound of ice over the south pole, and after
electromagnetically groping every rock and crevice in Antarctica, a
flat region 155 miles long and 31 miles wide was detected below Vostok
Station. As improbable as it seemed, SCAR researchers surmised that a
liquid lake must lie just below the Russians' steadily advancing bore
shaft. In order to avoid contaminating the huge lake with surface
bacteria and drilling chemicals, the tunneling had to be stopped.
Lake
Vostok was found to have approximately the same surface area as the
great Lake Ontario in North America, with more than thrice the depth.
Separated from sunlight by two miles of solid ice, the subglacial lake
is a place of profound darkness and bitter cold. The water temperature
is estimated at 3 degrees below zero Celsius, but it maintains a liquid
state due to the crushing weight of the polar ice slab; the temperature
at which water freezes is significantly lower under such phenomenal
pressure. It is also suspected that geothermal heat from the ground
below adds some ambient warmth. According to the ice cores extracted by
the Vostok Base scientists, the lonely lake has been sealed beneath the
ice for at least 500,000 years, but possibly as much as 25 million.
As
requested, the Russians temporarily suspended their drilling efforts
pending further study. Their borehole– which was filled with sixty tons
of kerosene and freon to prevent re-freezing– stopped within a mere 300
feet of the lake surface. The anomalous ice they had encountered turned
out to be lake water which had long ago frozen to the bottom of the
slowly migrating glacier. These ice samples provided a few insights
into the lake's anatomy, such as its lack of salt, and its absurd
overabundance of oxygen; under extreme pressures oxygen will more
readily dissolve in water. If the drilling over Vostok had continued
uninterrupted, thereby encroaching upon the liquid portion of the lake,
the hapless Russians might have been assaulted by a towering geyser of
ancient water and liberated oxygen due to the astonishing pressure of
the hidden body of water.


In the wake of the lake's discovery, there arose considerable debate
regarding the likelihood of finding life there. The environment is
remarkably similar to the dark and cold ocean below the surface of
Jupiter's ice moon Europa, so the discovery of life in Vostok
could have interesting extraterrestrial implications. Due to the cold,
the complete absence of sunlight, and the toxic levels of oxygen, many
scientists are certain that Lake Vostok is sterile. That, however,
would be a scientific first, since never before has a completely
lifeless body of water been found on Earth. Extremophile
organisms have turned up in the unlikeliest of places, including within
volcanic vents on the ocean floor, in the rocks deep in the Earth's
crust, and in frozen arctic soil.
It is not unreasonable to
suggest that cold-tolerant creatures could thrive in the waters of Lake
Vostok, overcoming the oxygen saturation with extraordinary natural
antioxidants. But millions of years of evolutionary isolation in an
extreme environment may have created some truly bizarre organisms. This
notion is supported by the ice samples drawn from the ice just above
Lake Vostok, where some unusual and unidentifiable microbial fossils
have been found. But the possibility that they are merely contaminates
has not yet been completely ruled out.
At present, a number of
researchers are mulling over methods to investigate the lake's unique
ecosystem without defiling its pristine nature. The introduction of any
organisms or chemicals from the surface could irreversibly pollute its
waters, and there is a small but real possibility that the lake's alien
organisms could be dangerous to humans. To date, the best candidate
seems to be the cryobot, a fittingly phallic penetrating probe
designed to gingerly work its way into the virgin lake. Its heated tip
would melt a channel straight into the ice as it unspools a power and
communications line behind it. The melted water would quickly re-freeze
behind the cryobot in temperatures which linger around minus 100
degrees Fahrenheit, and once it finally reached the water it would
eject a small submersible hydrobot to capture images and take measurements.


Though most scientists are proceeding with considerable caution, and
some advocate avoiding the lake altogether, there are reports that the
Russian researchers intend to restart drilling in order to reach the
lake before their rivals. The Antarctic Treaty of 1961
guarantees all nations the right to conduct non-military scientific
study on the continent, therefore little can be done to intervene if
the men at Vostok station insist upon proceeding. Several smaller lakes
have since been identified beneath the Antarctic icecap, but geologists
speculate many of these are linked by a network of under-ice rivers, so
contaminating just one lake might taint them all beyond repair.
If
science seizes the opportunity to properly explore this perplexing
pocket of liquid, it would be equally enlightening whether there is a
plethora of life or a complete absence thereof. If the lake is found to
be sterile, its desolate waters will provide some measure of insight
into life's practical limitations. But if living things do indeed lurk
beneath the thick Antarctic icecap– even if only in microbial form–
their presence will demonstrate that life is made up of truly resilient
stuff, with scientific implications well beyond the scope of our planet.
regards,
getmywishes

ahem ahem.......dont u think its lil short to read.....lol.......

amazing........getty amigo ya cracked out sumth really really interesting & mind-boggling......i loved this article....do come up with new such stuff...thanks a lottt!!!!!!!

Qasu u r such a genius yaar i just read one line and fell asleep :-P

Lol romi eat more almonds they'l help yr case lol

Roma-_ wrote:Qasu u r such a genius yaar i just read one line and fell asleep :-P

same here sis.......

Lol mysterious sister guess we've to increase yr concentration power lol

i even did,nt tried to read a single line ..lol..and going to click on back

Lol naqli need to improve yr concentration level too

yes we need to.....

Hmmm it's meditation classes for u little sister . .