Lake Vostok

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/lake-vostok

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is Lake Vostok?Approximately 12,500 km² (4,800 sq mi)
2. How deep is Lake Vostok?Approximately 500 m (1,600 ft)
3. What is the location?Subglacial, under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, Antarctica
4. What is the ice thickness above lake?Approximately 4,000 m (13,100 ft)
5. What is Lake Vostok and where is it located?Lake Vostok is a huge lake hidden under Antarctica’s ice, about 12,500 square kilometers in size. It lies 500 meters below sea level and is covered by roughly 4,000 meters of ice.
6. How long has Lake Vostok been isolated from the outside world?The lake has been cut off from the air and surface life for about 15 to 25 million years, keeping its environment very old and unchanged.

Subglacial Lake: A lake situated beneath a glacier or ice sheet, maintained in a liquid state by geothermal heat and pressure.
Paleoclimatology: The study of past climates, often using proxy data from ice cores, sediments, or tree rings.
Astrobiology: The scientific study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
Extremophile: An organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions detrimental to most life on Earth.