A rather surprising geographical feature of Antarctica is that a huge freshwater lake, one of the world’s largest and deepest, lies hidden there under four kilometers of ice. Now known as Lake Vostok, this huge body of water is located under the ice block that comprises Antarctica. The lake is able to exist in its unfrozen state beneath this block of ice because its waters are warmed by geothermal heat from the earth’s core. The thick glacier above Lake Vostok actually insulates it from the frigid temperatures on the surface.

   The lake was first discovered in the 1970s while a research team was conducting an aerial survey of the area. Radio waves from the survey equipment penetrated the ice and revealed a body of water of indeterminate size. It was not until much more recently that data collected by satellite made scientists aware of the tremendous size of the lake; the satellite-borne radar detected an extremely flat region where the ice remains level because it is floating on the water of the lake.

   The discovery of such a huge freshwater lake trapped under Antarctica is of interest to the scientific community because of the potential that the lake contains ancient microbes that have survived for thousands of years, unaffected by factors such as nuclear fallout and elevated ultraviolet light that have affected organisms in more exposed areas. The downside of the discovery, however, lies in the difficulty of conducting research on the lake in such a harsh climate and in the problems associated with obtaining uncontaminated samples from the lake without actually exposing the lake to contamination. Scientists are looking for possible ways to accomplish this.

Lake Vostok is potentially important to scientists because it________.

Câu hỏi liên quan

• Which of the following statements does paragraph 1 support?

• The word “ integral” in line 13 is closest in meaning to .....

• According to the passage, the depression of the 1930's caused which of the following?

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• According to paragraph 2, which of the following is not true about fungus growing on or near plants?

• According to the passage, what causes the unique color and look of hummingbirds?

• The word “hazard” in the passage means ................

• Greenhouse gases cause the warming up of the Earth because they ____.

• It can be inferred from paragraph 3 that _______.

• A typical African woman spends _______ collecting firewood every day.

• The word "Marring" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______________.

• The word "triggered" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ...........

• What does the passage mainly discuss?

• The word “tedious” in the last paragraph mostly means     .

• The word “reluctant” in the third paragraph can best be replaced by ............

• This passage is mainly aimed at .................

• What does the writer's father do?

• It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following presents the greatest danger to a diver?

• The passage mainly discusses ______.

• What is the main idea of this passage?

• The passage mentions which of the following as a reason for the importance of Lake Vostok to scientists?