They May Have Been In Existence For 35 Million Years Or More
The subglacial lakes of Antarctica have some of the most extreme conditions on the entire planet. The immense pressure upon the water affects the temperature at which water freezes, making them more akin to alien liquid bodies than other water bodies on earth.
These lakes are incredibly old; some estimates say that they may be 35 million years old or more! They have been a longstanding feature of Antarctica’s landscape and have been affecting the ice sheets in ways that scientists are only now beginning to understand.