Andrey Kapitsa
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Andrey Petrovich Kapitsa (Russian: Андре́й Петро́вич Капи́ца; 9 July 1931 – 2 August 2011) was a Soviet and Russian geographer and Antarctic explorer, discoverer of Lake Vostok, the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica.[3] He was a member of the Kapitsa family, a scientific dynasty in Russia.
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Andrey Kapitsa | |
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Born | Andrey Petrovich Kapitsa Андрей Петрович Капица (1931-07-09)9 July 1931 Cambridge, England |
Died | 2 August 2011(2011-08-02) (aged 80) Moscow, Russia |
Nationality | Russian |
Citizenship | Russia |
Alma mater | MSU Faculty of Geography |
Known for | discovery of the largest subglacial lake in Antarctica, Lake Vostok |
Awards | USSR State Prize (1971), Dmitry Anuchin Prize (1972), Honorary Scientist of Russia[1][2] |
Scientific career | |
Fields | geography |
Institutions | MSU Faculty of Geography (dean in 1965–1970), RAS |
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Kapitsa was the first to suggest the existence of Lake Vostok in the region of Vostok Station in Antarctica, based on seismic soundings of the thickness of the Antarctic ice sheet. These measures were obtained during the Soviet Antarctic Expeditions, in four of which Kapitsa participated.[4] The discovery of Lake Vostok was one of the last major geographic discoveries.[1][3]