A New Dictionary

Hidden away in the dry valleys of Antarctica lies Lake Vanda. From the surface, Lake Vanda looks like and ordinary Antarctic lake with permanent surface ice several meters thick; beneath the surface, however, Lake Vanda is anything but normal.
Underneath the surface ice the water is saline enough to keep the water from freezing; at the bottom of the lake the water has 10 percent dissolved solids content - three times as saline as sea water. While the water at the top of the lake is cold, the further down you go the warmer the water gets. Scientists have recorded water temperatures of 26°C in the bottom few meters of the lake; almost as warm as the Indian Ocean which is the warmest ocean on earth.
These high temperatures are due entirely to solar heating of the water through the ice, and not to any heat from rocks at depth beneath the lakes.