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Research teams in 2003 tested samples of ice from 3,200 meters below Vostok Station, they found diverse colonies of microbes. Scientists say this is significant because the lake has been isolated from the usual sources of atmospheric-derived energy, such as photosynthesis, for millions of years (NewScientist, Sept. 2003). Scientists believe ice is a good environment for primitive bacteria. The bacteria need less food because it's cold, and its metabolism is slowed down, somewhat like a hibernating bear's. Another finding was that DNA extracted from the microbes present in the team's Lake Vostok sample indicted the presence of only a few subgroups of known bacteria coupled with low overall microbial diversity (NASA, Dec. 1999). .
Recently in September an ice core shipped from Antarctica yielded its first results. The tests from the 3200 meter core dates back to at least 750,000, making it the oldest continuous core ever retrieved (NewScientist, Sept. 2003). Gases and particle trapped in the layers of an ice core provide information about the Earth's climate and atmosphere from 750,000 years ago. Oxygen and Hydrogen isotopes reveal the temperature when the ice formed, for example, while high carbon dioxide and methane level indicate periods of global warming (NewScientist, Sept. 2003). .
Lake Vostok has a wealth of untapped information about the Earth's Previous History. It may contain a totally different array of plant and animal life than that of anything found on earth today. The scientists working at the station now, are skeptical of drilling into the lake itself. They are having difficulty devising a method of drilling down into the lake without contaminating such an untouched specimen as it may be. .
"Since the 1996 discovery of a liquid lake, sealed for millions of years beneath two miles of solid ice scientists have speculated about the novel life forms existing within.
