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Scientists Solve Puzzle of Chile's Missing Lake |
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| CHILE: July 4, 2007 | ||
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SANTIAGO - Scientists said that a lake in southern Chile that mysteriously disappeared last month developed a crack which allowed the water to drain away.
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A buildup of water opened a crack in an ice wall along one side of the lake. Water flowed through the crack into a nearby fjord and from there into the sea, leaving behind a dry lake-bed littered with icebergs, scientists told Chilean state television on Tuesday. "It looks like it's slowly filling up with water again," said Andres Rivera, a glacier expert who headed a team which recently flew over the lake in a bid to solve the mystery. The lake is situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and is fed by melt-water from glaciers. Earlier this year it had a surface area of 4 to 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer fields. Scientists noticed it had disappeared during a routine patrol of the area in May. Rivera said the incident was evidence of the effects of global warming.
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REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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