Antarctic subglacial lake vostok

Of the 145 subglacial lakes identified in Antarctica, the largest is Lake Vostok, the seventh largest lake on Earth (Studinger et al., 2004). Lake Vostok is situated in central East Antarctica at approximately 77°S and 106°E, between the Gamburtsev subglacial mountains and the Aurora Subglacial Basin. A dense grid of radio-echo sounding (RES) records show that Lake Vostok is up to 260 km long and 80 km wide and the surface area is ∼14,000 km2 (Studinger et al., 2003). Local subglacial topography is very rugged to the west of the lake (ranging from −300 m to +2,400 m asl between the lake and 90°E), in contrast to smoother surfaces to the east (Studinger et al., 2003). A ∼11 km wide and 30 km long embayment, separated from the main lake by a narrow bedrock ridge at the south-western shore, has also been identified (Studinger et al., 2003).