# Missing Scientists in Antarctica - Science Fiction and Reality meet
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [February 4, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782 "2012-02-04T19:39:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/1 "2012-02-04T19:39:21Z")
Scientists are trying to drill into Lake Vostok. A lake that hasn’t been exposed to air since man began living here. They don’t know whats down there. Could be life we’ve never seen.
Sound familiar? _The Thing_ 😛
Except this is real life.Hope they are ok. There is also real concerns about introducing contaminates into this pristine environment.
The second article link is much longer and has some great images.
> [@](#):
>
> The world holds its breath, hoping for the best after six days of radio silence from Antarctica – where a team of Russian scientists is racing the clock and the oncoming winter to dig to an alien lake far beneath the ice.
>
> The team from Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) have been drilling for weeks in an effort to reach isolated Lake Vostok, a vast, dark body of water hidden 13,000 ft. below the surface of the icy continent. Lake Vostok hasn’t been exposed to air in more than 20 million years.
> **[Missing scientists mystery deepens in frozen Antarctica](https://www.foxnews.com/science/missing-scientists-mystery-deepens-in-frozen-antarctica)**
>
> A group of Russian scientists plumbing the frozen Antarctic in search of a lake buried in ice for tens of millions of years have failed to respond to increasingly anxious U.S. colleagues -- and as the days creep by, the fate of the team remains...
> [@](#):
>
> When the breakthrough moment comes they must take care not to contaminate the hidden underground world with bacteria and fluids from the drilling.To make sure the water stays completely pure, the machinery will not even touch the lake. Instead suction will be used to suck samples of the unique water into the borehole, where it will freeze before being raised to the surface for analysis. The team also faces the risk of an explosion with oxygen and nitrogen trapped below. They are trying to make sure only a small amount of air can escape to avert the risk. The scientists have been drilling 24 hours a day in three shifts as they race to break through before winter descends.
> **[Triumph! After two decades of drilling in most inhospitable place on Earth,...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2095193/Lake-Vostok-Russian-scientists-confirm-triumph-drilling-successful-Antarctica.html)**
>
> After more than two decades of drilling in Antarctica, Russian scientists have confirmed that they reached the surface of a gigantic freshwater lake hidden under miles of ice for some 20 million years.
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### Author:  [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/2 "2012-02-04T20:55:08Z")
Upon Googling, I came across this article which contradicts those articles and blames it on Fox News (ain’t called Faux News for nothing, wouldn’t be the first time they goofed either):
> [@](#):
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> [Fox Flub: Russian Vostok Lake Scientists Safe](http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/02/03/fox-flub-russian-vostok-lake-scientists-safe)
>
> The team of Russian scientists trying to uncover the prehistoric Lake Vostok miles beneath a surface of Antarctic ice are not lost, according to American Antarctic explorer John Priscu.
>
> “I can assure you that they are not lost or out of contact,” he wrote in an email. “I never said the Russians were lost.”
Whether true or not, it doesn’t seem to be making international headlines, as I would expect it to (yet).
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### Author:  [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/3 "2012-02-04T21:21:14Z")
The Daily Mail had the story first yesterday. Then today Fox picked it up. I figured with two sources it was worth posting about.
I had never heard of this lake under the arctic ice before. Could be a lot of fish never seen before.
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### Author:  [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/4 "2012-02-04T21:23:15Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> The Daily Mail had the story first yesterday. Then today Fox picked it up. I figured with two sources it was worth posting about.
Uh, we are talking about _The Daily Fail_ and _Faux News_ here. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/5 "2012-02-04T21:33:15Z")
I frequent a conspiracy message board, and people there are already contributing the missing scientists to all kinds of wacky things.
Unearthed aliens who are taking over the bodies.
A cloverfield like monster managed to squeeze through the hole and ate the scientists.
They unearthed Cthulhu and went mad.
They drilled into a secret nazi base and were taken prisoner.
Same as above, just switch nazi with NWO.
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### Author:  [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/6 "2012-02-04T21:49:47Z")
Jimmy Hoffa.
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### Author:  [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/7 "2012-02-04T21:54:49Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#):
>
> Uh, we are talking about _The Daily Fail_ and _Faux News_ here. 🙂
The \*\*Fail \*\*must be sure the lake’s filled w/ the remains of ancient women who tried to have a job while being mums but found themselves fat and/or unfulfilled.
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### Author:  [@Mr.Accident](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Accident)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/8 "2012-02-04T21:54:52Z")
_eyes **Duckster** _
Do you frequent such a board too? One of the posts on that board suggested they found Jimmy Hoffa. (At least that one wasn’t being serious.)
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### Author:  [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/9 "2012-02-04T22:02:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#):
>
> I had never heard of this lake under the arctic ice before. Could be a lot of fish never seen before.
No fish - from the OP, the lake has been under ice for 20 million years. Also it is in the antarctic - the other side of the planet from the arctic.
This story does remind me of an incident that took place at an Antarctic base that I was at in the 90’s. The base is about 60 miles north of McMurdo, and only holds 5-10 scientists. A few years before I was there, the field party decided to hike around on the sea ice. At that point in the season, the sea ice was not stable, and was in the process of breaking up. Bad idea. An off-shore wind blew a lead in the ice (open water) near the shore. They could not get back to camp.
That evening, they did not make their scheduled radio check-in. Nor the next morning. An emergency helo flight confirmed that there was nobody at the camp. Nobody at all. No notes. Nothing to indicate where the party had vanished.
Recon flights turned up nothing. Meanwhile the party was on an ice floe in the middle of the Ross Sea. And ice floe that was getting smaller and smaller as it broke into pieces.
Finally several days later, a US Navy Hercules flight was coming into McMurdo from Christchurch NZ. They had been warned to keep an eye open on approach. They noticed an ice floe tipping at an odd angle, so circled around for a better view. They spotted the party hanging on to a now very small floe.
All were rescued. When we were at this base camp, the rules were quite clear; No going on the sea ice, ever, for any reason. It was quite fascinating to read the camp log book around those dates, as the search parties all checked in through the hut and logged comments.
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### Author:  [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/10 "2012-02-05T15:07:15Z")
They pissed off the elder things.
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### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/11 "2012-02-05T15:12:15Z")
The burning question is; Do they have a flamethrower?
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### Author:  [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)
#### Post date: [February 5, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/12 "2012-02-05T19:27:00Z")
> [@Ruken](#):
>
> They pissed off the elder things.
This is what I thought of first. If they find the rest of the party, but one man and one dog are missing, you just know they’ll wind up in the frozen ruins of some eldritch and cyclopean city.
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### Author:  [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/13 "2012-02-06T18:26:15Z")
> [@Mr.Accident](#):
>
> I frequent a conspiracy message board, …all kinds of wacky things.
> Unearthed aliens who are taking over the bodies.
> They drilled into a secret nazi base and were taken prisoner.
wow that sounds like a fun read! I need some entertainment..
Give us the linky-link, pretty please?
(mods…aw, come on now, I know you guys don’t like links to other message boards …But this one ain’t gonna provide you with no competitors… It’s more like linking to a weird post on [Fark.com](http://Fark.com) )
I had a rough day at work and I need some fun today…
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### Author:  [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2012, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/14 "2012-02-06T19:54:06Z")
Not officially confirmed yet, but they have apparently drilled into the lake (Fox reports the same, with just a passing mention of the previously reported loss of contact):
> [@](#):
>
> [Russians drill into previously untouched Lake Vostok below Antarctic glacier](http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/russians-drill-into-previously-untouched-lake-vostok-below-antarctica/2012/02/06/gIQAGziNuQ_story.html)
>
> Russian scientists have drilled into the vast, dark and never-before-touched Lake Vostok 2.2 miles below the surface of Antarctica, according to a source quoted Monday by Ria Novosti, a state-run Russian news agency.
>
> “Yesterday, our scientists stopped drilling at the depth of 3,768 meters and reached the surface of the subglacial lake,” the source was quoted as saying. The news agency described the source as saying the team had “finally managed to pierce” the ice sheet into Vostok.
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### Author:  [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)
#### Post date: [February 6, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/15 "2012-02-06T19:59:45Z")
> [@chappachula](#):
>
> wow that sounds like a fun read! I need some entertainment..
> Give us the linky-link, pretty please?
>
> (mods…aw, come on now, I know you guys don’t like links to other message boards …But this one ain’t gonna provide you with no competitors… It’s more like linking to a weird post on [Fark.com](http://Fark.com) )
> I had a rough day at work and I need some fun today…
The first think that comes to my mind when I see “conspiracy message board” is Godlike Productions, which is probably the site Mr. Accident is referring to (the description in Google outright states that “Godlike Productions is a Conspiracy Forum. Discussion topics include UFOs, Conspiracy, Lunatic Fringe, Politics, Current Events, Secret Societies, Conspiracy…”.
Note the kind of site I would frequent though because conspiracy theories are the complete opposite of what I follow.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/16 "2012-02-08T18:14:15Z")
Even though this was debunked on the 4th, as late as the evening of the 7th Google News was still highlighting the “story”.
This is a problem with news aggregation: False stories don’t get sent to the bit bucket.
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### Author:  [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)
#### Post date: [February 8, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/missing-scientists-in-antarctica-science-fiction-and-reality-meet/611782/17 "2012-02-08T19:21:27Z")
I was going to merge the two threads on this topic, but since this one contains erroneous information in the title, I’m just going to close this one and direct everyone to the [new thread here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=641372).