What is Lake Vostok?
{{Infobox lake |lake_name = Lake Vostok |image_lake = Lake Vostok Sat Photo color.jpg |caption_lake = When photographed from space by radar, Lake Vostok can be seen as a flat area inside the ice sheet. ([[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]] [[Goddard Space Flight Center|GSFC]]) <!-- |caption_lake = Location within Antarctica ([[National Aeronautics and Space Administration|NASA]]) --> |image_bathymetry = |caption_bathymetry = |coords = {{coord|77|0|S|105|0|E|type:waterbody_region:AQ|display=inline,title}} |type = [[subglacial lake|subglacial]] [[rift lake]] |inflow = |outflow = |catchment = |basin_countries = (Antarctica) |length = 250 km |width = 50 km |area = 15,690 km² |depth = 344 m |max-depth = 1,000 m |volume = 5,400 ± 1,600 km³ |residence_time = 1,000,000 yrs |shore = |elevation = |islands = 1 (found May 2005) |cities = [[Vostok, Antarctica|Vostok Station]] }} '''Lake Vostok''' is the biggest of the seventy [[lake]]s in [[Antarctica]] that are under sheets of ice. It is at 77° S 105° E. It is under [[Russia]]'s [[Vostok Station]]. It is 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) under Antarctica's surface. The lake was found by [[Russia]]n and [[British]] [[scientist]]s. They used [[radar]] to find it. The lake consists of [[fresh water]]. The temperature of the water is about -3 °C. The [[freezing point]] of water is at 0 °C, but the water in the lake remains liquid because of the high [[pressure]] produced by the [[ice]]. There are two separate basins in the lake. These are separated by a [[ridge]]. It has been suggested that the [[ecosystem]]s of the two basins are different. ==Pressure and oxygen== Lake Vostok is an [[oligotroph]]ic extreme environment. It is [[supersaturated]] with [[oxygen]]. The levels of oxygen are fifty times higher than those typically found in ordinary [[freshwater]] lakes on Earth. The weight of the ice on top of Lake Vostok is believed to add to the high [[concentration]] of oxygen. Oxygen from the ice gets dissolved into the water of the lake