<Tr> <Th> Islands </Th> <Td> 0 (none) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Settlements </Th> <Td> Lake Vida Camp </Td> </Tr> <P> Lake Vida is a hypersaline lake in Victoria Valley, the northernmost of the large McMurdo Dry Valleys, on the continent of Antarctica . It is isolated under year - round ice cover, and is considerably more saline than seawater . It came to public attention in 2002 when microbes frozen in its ice cover for more than 2,800 years were successfully thawed and reanimated . </P> <P> Lake Vida is one of the largest lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valley region and is a closed - basin endorheic lake . The permanent surface ice on the lake is the thickest non-glacial ice on earth, reaching a depth of at least 21 metres (69 ft). The ice at depth is saturated with brine that is seven times as saline as seawater . The high salinity allows the brine to remain liquid at an average yearly water temperature of − 13 ° C (9 ° F). The ice cap has sealed the saline brine from external air and water for thousands of years creating a time capsule for ancient DNA . This combination of lake features make Lake Vida a unique lacustrine ecosystem on Earth . </P>

2012 important discovery about lake vida in antarctica