About This Lesson
Antarctica is the last place you would expect to find liquid water, but sealed beneath Antarctica’s ice sheet lie about 400 hidden lakes. Geothermal energy, along with friction and a heavy blanket of ice, keeps the water liquid on this frigid continent. Russian, British, and American teams attempted to sample three lakes: Ellsworth, Whillans and Vostok. The Russians pierced ice to reach Lake Vostok, but have yet to find evidence of life. The British temporarily suspended their efforts to reach Lake Ellsworth. It was the Americans who accomplished their goal at Lake Whillans.
