<p>Yes. So far as aquifers are concerned, Antarctica is just like any other continent. The Ice is 4 kilometres thick in places, but at the bottom there is water. If there is any place where water is not found at the base of the ice sheet, there will be an aquifer within a few miles. There are about 400 sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica, the most well known being Lake Vostok in Russian Antarctic Territory. </p>

<p>Lake Vostok is very large and deep, covered by 4 Km of ice, and Russian scientists have recently drilled down to it in the hope of finding living organisms. Although it is completely dark down there they were not disappointed, and many micro-organisms were found, but no vertebrates. There is a large, dry valley deep in Antarctica where precipitation is negligible and bare ground is everywhere, but how this affects underground water resources I don't think anyone could say.  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-12T20:57:56.097Z
Technically, ["An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt)."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer)
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-12T21:20:55.000Z
You couldn't have 400 lakes on a continent without having any aquifers. On a continent without aquifers, the dinosaurs would have found it hard to survive, yet they survived there for millions of years. Even the Sahara Desert has aquifers.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-12T21:31:52.823Z
There is recent evidence for these: https://www.google.com/search?q=Antarctica+aquifers
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-13T04:26:35.367Z
What [Russian Antarctic territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_claims_in_Antarctica)? They may have a presence via bases & they may have discovered & named Lake Vostok, but they have no territory there!
Fred
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-13T08:22:40.277Z
I know perfectly well that no country owns territory in the Antarctic, but if you search the internet you will find a map showing Antarctica divided up into territories which various countries claim. The UK has a claim there, so do many other countries.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-11-12T20:40:55.110Z
2019-11-12T20:40:55.110Z
Michael Walsby
<p>I got to thinking about freshwater on Antarctica. Obviously, there is a lot of freshwater ice. However, the deeper you go underground, eventually the dirt will be warmed geothermically. So does the geothermal heat melt the ice and create a lot of underground water? Or does surface ice have zero correlation with underground water?</p>

<p>I have no idea how aquifers are technically made. This is just idle curiosity/speculation from your average Joe.</p>

<groundwater><antarctica>
Does Antarctica have a lot of aquifers?
World Outsider
# Does Antarctica have a lot of aquifers?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-11-12)

I got to thinking about freshwater on Antarctica. Obviously, there is a lot of freshwater ice. However, the deeper you go underground, eventually the dirt will be warmed geothermically. So does the geothermal heat melt the ice and create a lot of underground water? Or does surface ice have zero correlation with underground water?

I have no idea how aquifers are technically made. This is just idle curiosity/speculation from your average Joe.

**Tags:** groundwater, antarctica


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-11-12. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Yes. So far as aquifers are concerned, Antarctica is just like any other continent. The Ice is 4 kilometres thick in places, but at the bottom there is water. If there is any place where water is not found at the base of the ice sheet, there will be an aquifer within a few miles. There are about 400 sub-glacial lakes in Antarctica, the most well known being Lake Vostok in Russian Antarctic Territory.

Lake Vostok is very large and deep, covered by 4 Km of ice, and Russian scientists have recently drilled down to it in the hope of finding living organisms. Although it is completely dark down there they were not disappointed, and many micro-organisms were found, but no vertebrates. There is a large, dry valley deep in Antarctica where precipitation is negligible and bare ground is everywhere, but how this affects underground water resources I don't think anyone could say.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Technically, ["An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt)."](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquifer)  
> **username_1**: You couldn't have 400 lakes on a continent without having any aquifers. On a continent without aquifers, the dinosaurs would have found it hard to survive, yet they survived there for millions of years. Even the Sahara Desert has aquifers.  
> **username_2**: There is recent evidence for these: https://www.google.com/search?q=Antarctica+aquifers  
> **username_3**: What [Russian Antarctic territory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_claims_in_Antarctica)? They may have a presence via bases & they may have discovered & named Lake Vostok, but they have no territory there!  
> **username_1**: I know perfectly well that no country owns territory in the Antarctic, but if you search the internet you will find a map showing Antarctica divided up into territories which various countries claim. The UK has a claim there, so do many other countries.  

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