Scientists have discovered what could be a giant lake buried deep under the ice in Antarctica.
This would be the second biggest subglacial lake discovery in Antarctica after Lake Vostok was discovered and became the sixth largest lake on the planet.
These vast pools of water are unlike anything else on the planet. Untouched for millions of years and completely sealed off from the outside world they have the potential to harbour thousands of lifeforms that have never been seen before.
Subglacial lakes are also mind-bogglingly clean with water as pure as double-distilled mineral water.
The new lake is believed to be around 100km long and 10km wide. It's also significantly closer to a research station than any other subglacial lake making it perfect for research.
In addition to revealing entirely new species of lifeforms these lakes can act as a testbed for how researchers look for alien life within our own solar system.
Discovering the lake's secrets is a dangerous task though.
The key is not to contaminate the lake's flawless water with drilling equipment, something which a Russian scientific expedition almost did to Lake Vostok.
Bryn Hubbard of the University of Aberystwyth, UK spoke to New Scientist about the exciting discovery.
“It’s the last un-researched part of Antarctica, so it’s very exciting news, but it’s still tentative pending full confirmation,"
