Lake Vostok
| Lake Vostok | |
|---|---|
Radar satellite image of Lake Vostok
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| Coordinates | 77°30′S 106°00′E / 77.500°S 106.000°ECoordinates: 77°30′S 106°00′E / 77.500°S 106.000°E |
| Lake type | Subglacial rift lake |
| Basin countries | Antarctica |
| Max. length | 250 km (160 mi) |
| Max. width | 50 km (30 mi) |
| Surface area | 12,500 km2 (4,830 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 432 m (1,417 ft) |
| Max. depth | 510 m (1,700 ft) to 900 m (3,000 ft) |
| Water volume | 5,400 km3 (1,300 cu mi) ± 1,600 km3 (400 cu mi) |
| Residence time | 13,300 yrs |
| Surface elevation | c. −500 m (−1,600 ft) |
| Islands | 1 |
| Settlements | Vostok Station |
Lake Vostok (Russian: Озеро Восток, Ozero Vostok, lit. "Lake East") is the largest of Antarctica's almost 400 known subglacial lakes. Lake Vostok is located at the southern Pole of Cold, beneath Russia's Vostok Station under the surface of the central East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is at 3,488 m (11,444 ft) above mean sea level. The surface of this fresh water lake is approximately 4,000 m (13,100 ft) under the surface of the ice, which places it at approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) below sea level.
Measuring 250 km (160 mi) long by 50 km (30 mi) wide at its widest point, and covering an area of 12,500 km2 (4,830 sq mi) and an average depth of 432 m (1,417 ft), it has an estimated volume of 5,400 km3 (1,300 cu mi). The lake is divided into two deep basins by a ridge. The liquid water over the ridge is about 200 m (700 ft), compared to roughly 400 m (1,300 ft) deep in the northern basin and 800 m (2,600 ft) deep in the southern.
The lake is named after Vostok Station, which in turn is named after the Vostok (Восток), a sloop-of-war ship, which means "East" in Russian. The existence of a subglacial lake in the Vostok region was first suggested by Russian geographer Andrey Kapitsa based on seismic soundings made during the Soviet Antarctic Expeditions in 1959 and 1964 to measure the thickness of the ice sheet. The continued research by Russian and British scientists led by 1993 to the final confirmation of the existence of the lake by J. P. Ridley using ERS-1 laser altimetry.
The overlying ice provides a continuous paleoclimatic record of 400,000 years, although the lake water itself may have been isolated for 15 to 25 million years. On 5 February 2012, a team of Russian scientists completed the longest ever ice core of 3,768 m (12,400 ft) and pierced the ice shield to the surface of the lake.
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Wikipedia