UK Scientists Drill Through Antarctic Ice

British scientists have begun drilling through the Antarctic ice in the hope of finding extreme life forms in a hidden lake.

The team of 12 scientists are using hot water to melt a borehole through 3km (2 miles) of the continental ice sheet to reach Lake Ellsworth.

The freshwater has been sealed off by the ice sheet for up to half a million years, and is kept liquid by the warmth of the bedrock.

Scientists hope to find microbes that somehow survive in the cold, dark water with few nutrients.

Engineer Andy Tait from British Antarctic Survey said the drill uses water heated to 90 degrees Celsius and pressurised to 2,000 PSI - 20 times more powerful than a car jet-wash.

"This is a huge but delicate operation," he said.

"This will be the deepest borehole ever made this way. It is the most effective way to obtain rapid, clean access to Lake Ellsworth."

The team hopes to reach the pristine lake in four to five days.

They will then drop down sterile probes to sample the water, and take a 3m (10 foot) long core of the lake sediment.

They will have just 24 hours to complete the mission before the borehole re-freezes.

The team hopes to obtain 'clean access' to the lake

Principle investigator Martin Siegert from the University of Bristol said: "We are about to explore the unknown and I am very excited that our mission will advance our scientific understanding of Antarctica's hidden world.

"Right now we are working around the clock in a cold, demanding and extreme location. It's testing our own personal endurance, but it is entirely worth it."

If microbes are discovered, it will encourage scientists who believe life could exist in similar lakes beneath the icy crust of Jupiter's moon Europa.

Lake Ellsworth could also reveal whether the Antarctic ice has ever disappeared in the past - and whether climate change could cause it to melt again, with a catastrophic rise in sea-levels.

The mission is a consortium of the British Antarctic Survey, the National Oceanography Centre and nine universities. It is funded by the National Environment Research Council.

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