Vostok Research Station, The Official Coldest Place On Earth
Public DomainVostok Research Station is located in the heart of Antarctica.
Established by the Soviet Union in 1957, the Vostok Research Station is one of Earth’s most remote locations. Situated near the south geomagnetic pole in the middle of East Antarctica, it sits atop the vast East Antarctic Ice Sheet, approximately 810 miles from the geographic South Pole.
On July 21, 1983, Vostok Station recorded the lowest surface temperature ever observed on Earth: a bone-chilling negative 128.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it the official coldest place in the world. Researchers attributed this extreme temperature to the station’s high elevation, clear skies and calm conditions, and the long polar night during the winter months.
Despite its harsh environment, Vostok Station has been the site of significant scientific discoveries.
In the 1990s, researchers confirmed that there was a massive subglacial lake beneath the station. Dubbed Lake Vostok, the body of water lies roughly two-and-a-half miles below the surface of the ice. Spanning about 150 miles in length and 30 miles in width, it rivals Lake Ontario in size.
The water in Lake Vostok remains liquid at an average temperature of approximately 27 degrees Fahrenheit due to the immense pressure exerted by the overlying ice sheet, which lowers the freezing point.
Despite these extreme conditions, studies of accreted ice — ice that has refrozen from the lake water onto the base of the ice sheet — have revealed small quantities of microbes, suggesting that Lake Vostok may harbor life adapted to its unique environment. The potential for life in such extreme conditions has also fueled some speculation — and perhaps hope — that life could be found in similarly inhospitable locales on other planets as well.
