Weaver wrote:I have real concerns about this "race", and the contamination of the water which is sure to happen when these oil-lubricated drills penetrate through the ice.

Ihavenofingerprints wrote:These oil companies spend all winter campaigning against global warming, but all summer drilling fresh oil reserves which have been covered by ice sheets for millennia (until now)?

Zwaarddijk wrote:

Ihavenofingerprints wrote:These oil companies spend all winter campaigning against global warming, but all summer drilling fresh oil reserves which have been covered by ice sheets for millennia (until now)?

Oil companies? What?

Weaver wrote:I have real concerns about this "race", and the contamination of the water which is sure to happen when these oil-lubricated drills penetrate through the ice.

By Katia Moskvitch
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979

(snippage)

Eager to explore the ancient lake, scientists started drilling and managed to go as deep as about 3,600m - but when the untouched waters were only some 130m away, in 1998, the project ground to a halt.

Antarctica's Vostok station was built in 1956

"We had to stop because of the concerns of possible contamination of the lake," explained Alexey Ekaikin, a member of the current expedition, who spoke to the BBC Russian Service from Vostok station.

He said that drilling was resumed in 2004, when the team came up with new, ecologically safe methods of probing the lake.
“We have to make a huge effort not to spoil the environment by being interested in it.”

In November 2010, the scientists submitted a final environmental evaluation of the project to the Antarctic Treaty's environmental protection committee and were given the go-ahead to sample the ancient waters.

They said that instead of drilling into the lake, they would go down until a sensor on the drill detects free water.

Then they would take the drill out without going any further and adjust the pressure so that instead of any liquid in the borehole falling down into the lake, water in the lake would be sucked up.

Then the drill would be taken away and left for quite some time to freeze, creating a plug of frozen ice in the bottom of the hole.

Finally, next season, the team would drill down again to take a sample of that ice and analyse it.

(snippage)

continues...

FACT-MAN-2 wrote:

Weaver wrote:I have real concerns about this "race", and the contamination of the water which is sure to happen when these oil-lubricated drills penetrate through the ice.

It appears to me that the idea o a "race" is just so much media hogwash. The Russians have been at this for more than a decade, so if there is a race, they have a gargantuan head start, which kind of nullifies the idea of a "race" going on.

The Russians have shown great patience in this undertaking and demonstrated themselves to be responsible scientific researchers.

Moreover, the Russians have by no means been cavalier regarding the issue of contamination.

By Katia Moskvitch
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979

(snippage)

Eager to explore the ancient lake, scientists started drilling and managed to go as deep as about 3,600m - but when the untouched waters were only some 130m away, in 1998, the project ground to a halt.

Antarctica's Vostok station was built in 1956

"We had to stop because of the concerns of possible contamination of the lake," explained Alexey Ekaikin, a member of the current expedition, who spoke to the BBC Russian Service from Vostok station.

He said that drilling was resumed in 2004, when the team came up with new, ecologically safe methods of probing the lake.
“We have to make a huge effort not to spoil the environment by being interested in it.”

In November 2010, the scientists submitted a final environmental evaluation of the project to the Antarctic Treaty's environmental protection committee and were given the go-ahead to sample the ancient waters.

They said that instead of drilling into the lake, they would go down until a sensor on the drill detects free water.

Then they would take the drill out without going any further and adjust the pressure so that instead of any liquid in the borehole falling down into the lake, water in the lake would be sucked up.

Then the drill would be taken away and left for quite some time to freeze, creating a plug of frozen ice in the bottom of the hole.

Finally, next season, the team would drill down again to take a sample of that ice and analyse it.

(snippage)

continues...

I'd say your concerns were badly misplaced and typical of American attitudes toward Russia.

orpheus wrote:Somehow John Carpenter's "The Thing" comes to mind. As does Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness".

Weaver wrote:

FACT-MAN-2 wrote:

Weaver wrote:I have real concerns about this "race", and the contamination of the water which is sure to happen when these oil-lubricated drills penetrate through the ice.

It appears to me that the idea o a "race" is just so much media hogwash. The Russians have been at this for more than a decade, so if there is a race, they have a gargantuan head start, which kind of nullifies the idea of a "race" going on.

The Russians have shown great patience in this undertaking and demonstrated themselves to be responsible scientific researchers.

Moreover, the Russians have by no means been cavalier regarding the issue of contamination.

By Katia Moskvitch
Science reporter, BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12275979

(snippage)

Eager to explore the ancient lake, scientists started drilling and managed to go as deep as about 3,600m - but when the untouched waters were only some 130m away, in 1998, the project ground to a halt.

Antarctica's Vostok station was built in 1956

"We had to stop because of the concerns of possible contamination of the lake," explained Alexey Ekaikin, a member of the current expedition, who spoke to the BBC Russian Service from Vostok station.

He said that drilling was resumed in 2004, when the team came up with new, ecologically safe methods of probing the lake.
“We have to make a huge effort not to spoil the environment by being interested in it.”

In November 2010, the scientists submitted a final environmental evaluation of the project to the Antarctic Treaty's environmental protection committee and were given the go-ahead to sample the ancient waters.

They said that instead of drilling into the lake, they would go down until a sensor on the drill detects free water.

Then they would take the drill out without going any further and adjust the pressure so that instead of any liquid in the borehole falling down into the lake, water in the lake would be sucked up.

Then the drill would be taken away and left for quite some time to freeze, creating a plug of frozen ice in the bottom of the hole.

Finally, next season, the team would drill down again to take a sample of that ice and analyse it.

(snippage)

continues...

I'd say your concerns were badly misplaced and typical of American attitudes toward Russia.

(Blue color highlighting added)

What the fuck?

As I said, I would be quite happy to be proven wrong - but I am still concerned that the proposed methods will allow contamination of the drill-shaft oil into the lake.

Weaver wrote:
This has absolutely nothing to do with the nationality of the drilling team - nothing I said anywhere indicated I thought that, and I don't.

I don't know what the fuck your problem with me is, but you need to back off and quit personalizing everything.

Sityl wrote:

orpheus wrote:Somehow John Carpenter's "The Thing" comes to mind. As does Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness".

Oh yes, and Alien v. Predator.

BlackBart wrote:

Sityl wrote:

orpheus wrote:Somehow John Carpenter's "The Thing" comes to mind. As does Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness".

Oh yes, and Alien v. Predator.

Reported.

Weaver wrote:I'm guessing that anyone who posts up AVP as a response to such great works as The Thing and anything by Lovecraft deserves to be (jokingly) reported?

Just my personal, unofficial, non-Moderating, joking reply