There are hundreds of antarctic lakes in Antarctica.In 2018 researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research published a study they claimed cast doubt on the earlier estimate that there were almost 400 subglacial antarctic lakes. Antarctica also has some relatively small regions that are clear of ice and snow, and there are some surface lakes in these regions. They called for on the ground seismic studies, or drilling, to determine a more reliable number.
These lakes are buried beneath deep layers of glacial ice. When a glacier is very thick, the pressure at the bottom is great enough that liquid water can exist at temperatures where water would freeze, at regular pressures. The ice above Lake Vostok, the largest antarctic lake, is approximately 2abbr=offNaNabbr=off thick.
Scientists studying the lakes, by careful drilling and water sampling, suggest conditions there may resemble the oceans believed to exist on planet Jupiter's moon Europa.
| Name | Surface area | Depth | Volume | Below surface | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ablation Lake | 117m (384feet)+ | 500m (1,600feet) | The lake contains both saline and fresh water layers. | |||
| Algae Lake | An ice-free lake in the ice-free Bunger Hills highlands. | |||||
| Amphitheatre Lake | A surface lake. | |||||
| Beaver Lake | A surface lake, near a "stagnant" glacier, its name derives from the STOL Beaver aircraft used to supply a nearby base, not from the presence of actual beavers. | |||||
| Lake Boeckella | A surface lake, named for the crustaceans from the genus Boeckella it hosts. | |||||
| Lake Burton | 1.35km2 | 18.3m (60feet) | 9690000m2 | A meromictic and saline lagoon. | ||
| Changing Lake | One of three surface lakes on Signy Island. | |||||
| Concordia Lake | 900sqkm | 250m (820feet) | 200km3 | 4km (02miles) | A large subglacial lake, discovered in 1999. In 2009 it was the second largest subglacial lake to be studied. | |
| Lake Ellsworth | 30sqkm | 150m (490feet) | 1400m (4,600feet) | |||
| Forlidas Pond | This small pond is the only pond in the northern Pensacola Mountains. | |||||
| Lake Whillans | 60sqkm | ~2m (07feet) | 800m (2,600feet) |