Unbeknownst to the Russians, their drill had mingled with the
uppermost reaches of one of the largest freshwater lakes in the
world; a pristine pocket of liquid whose ecosystem was separated
from the rest of the Earth millions of years ago. As for what
sort of organisms might lurk in that exotic environment today,
no one can really be certain. In prehistoric times the Antarctic
continent was much more temperate, with lush tropical foliage
and thriving wildlife. But millions of years ago the Earth's
extra-flaky crust caused the landmasses of Australia and South
America to gradually peel away from Antarctica, creating a ring
of open sea around the southernmost continent. This allowed a
massive oceanic current to begin encircling the pole, deflecting
warmer northerly currents away from Antarctica's shores. Without
warm water to moderate the temperature, a scab of polar ice
developed over the formerly forested lands. Roughly forty
million years later, in 1996, the men and women of the
Scientific Committee on Anta