The irony of this News story from the world of geo-science, has my mind spinning.
Perhaps you can help me to figure out what the moral of this story should be ...
What is the punchline to this record-breaking achievement?
Antarctic lake ice has been perforated by Russian scientists, although the report has yet to be confirmed. RIA Novosti announced Monday that a team of Russian scientists had penetrated the thick ice layers of Lake Vostok in Antarctica in order to reach the uncontaminated water of the sub-glacial lake.
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Given the momentous nature of the achievement, scientists want to be sure that the Antarctic lake ice has been perforated before they pop any champagne.
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Antarctic lake ice perforated by Russian scientists
The State Column -- Feb 07, 2012
But wait, it gets better ...
Image Source: earthsci.org -- lake vostok ... frozen in time
[continuing ...]
Lake Vostok is one of the world’s largest lakes, not to mention the fact that the lake is Antarctica’s biggest lake. A sub-glacial lake like, such as Lake Vostok, is especially attractive to explorers because scientists believe that the ice layers above the lake have kept the water below from being contaminated by foreign substances. However, scientists are somewhat concerned that some chemicals from the drilling operation may have seeped into the water over time.
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Lake Vostok, which lies beneath nearly 4km of ice, is 14 million years old. In order to try and reach the Antarctic lake, the Russian scientists started drilling 20 years ago and have been piercing the ice by about 5.7 feet per day.
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Maybe it's just me, but I think the thing they were seeking, just may have been spoiled by the doggedness of their search for it ... ?
There's goes the world's ultimate Perrier franchise ... me thinks.