Lake Vostok

[PlaamooParticipant]

This is really interesting! They were working on this when I was there in 2000 but delayed drilling for fears of contamination by the drill.

“They even found species that are generally associated with mollusks and fish, leading one researcher to say that the lake “might have fish,” before quickly backpedaling.”

 

 

Wouldn’t that be interesting!

 

 

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/160667-3500-species-discovered-in-lake-vostok-underneath-miles-of-ice-in-conditions-similar-to-jupiters-europa

 

 

 

[BigTomParticipant]

Pretty awesome.

Paper is open access too – http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0067221

[BigTomParticipant]

Haha, I can see biodiversity lecturers having a lot of fun with this diagram of metabolic pathways –

[PlaamooParticipant]

Thanks for the link Tom, though most of it is Greek to me. Fascinating stuff!

I spent a few days here in 1999, pretty amazing place!

http://www.mcmurdodryvalleys.aq/

[MattKeymaster]

Cool. Are there any native freshwater fishes known from the region already Jim?

[PlaamooParticipant]

There’s no open water to speak of Matt. The lakes in the Dry Valleys melt around the edges in Summer. But who know what’s lurking down there?

There is some amazing sea life under the ice. I got real friendly with the divers & the group studying the saltwater fish so I got to go out with them quite a bit. Dissostichus mawsoni, the Antarctic toothfish, were the main focus. Dr Art Devries, who led the group, discovered a protien in their blood that keeps it from freezing at such low temps. Occasionally they would kill a few to draw fluids and they would call me to filet them and deliver the meat to the galley. Fresh fish for dinner!

http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/science/contenthandler.cfm?id=2865

 

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