Unknown subglacial lake was discovered near Akademik Vernadsky station by scientists Taras Bilyi and Denys Pishniak. The subglacial space allowed researchers to walk about 30 meters. The final scale of the lake has not yet been established, but it can be confirmed that it is the largest natural lake of Galindez island.
“Of course, it should not be compared to the giant glacial lakes existing in Antarctica. But it is noteworthy that such an object exists on a small island, which reaches only half a kilometer in diameter”, – considers the “discoverer” Denys Pishniak – Head of the Department of Atmospheric Physics of the National Academy of Sciences, which now works at the Antarctic station as part of a seasonal detachment of scientists.
Scientists wondered why the lake did not freeze in the permafrost of the glacier. “The answer lies in the fact that while melt water flows down from the rock it heats up and accumulates in a stone pocket – the basin of the lake, flooding the glacier from below. A year-round storage of summer solar heat and fresh water is formed in permafrost, ”explains Denis Pishniak.
The maximum depth of the lake is 1.5 meters. Then scientists will study whether there are rare species in the lake.
It should be reminded that in the summer of 2019 Ukrainian polar explorers discovered a giant ice cave under the largest glacier of the Galindez Island.
Photo: Ihor Dykyy, Denys Pishniak.