|Graphic from Wired Science|
How are they going to do it? In November of this year, the team from the BAS will be using hot water, which remains hot due to geothermal heat that comes from inside the earth. This hot water drill will spray for three continuous days and create a hole just over a foot wide (36cm). The water is sprayed at 2,000 psi and about 190 degrees F (90C). Due to the extremely low temperatures at the lake, the diameter of the hole is expected to reduce its diameter by .6cm per hour, as water refreezes. This leaves scientists with 24 hours from when they finish drilling, to conduct experiments and take samples.
This exploration is very exciting, considering the lake's total isolation. It will be interesting to observe anything that may be alive, as all living things in the lake will have been left to their own evolutionary devices for many thousands of years, with virtually no light from which to draw the energy on which most earthly lifeforms rely.