Andrey Petrovich Kapitsa was a Soviet and Russian geographer and Antarctic explorer, discoverer of Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica. He was a member of the Kapitsa family, a scientific dynasty in Russia.
Satellite image of Lake Vostok by NASA
Lake Vostok is the largest of Antarctica's 675 known subglacial lakes.
Lake Vostok is located at the southern Pole of Cold, beneath Russia's Vostok Station under the surface of the central East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is at 3,488 m (11,444 ft) above mean sea level. The surface of this fresh water lake is approximately 4,000 m (13,100 ft) under the surface of the ice, which places it at approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) below sea level.
Radar satellite image of Lake Vostok
Vostok Station
Ice cores drilled at Vostok Station, which is seen in the background
An artist's cross-section of Lake Vostok's drilling