Antarctica may be known for ice and penguins, but scientists have also found rivers, soggy soil and more than 145 lakes below the glaciers.

The largest subglacial lake is Lake Vostok, which has a surface area comparable to Lake Ontario and interests John Priscu of Montana State University.

Priscu, a renowned polar biologist, recently organized a gathering of international researchers who study subglacial lakes in Antarctica. Scientists from Belgium, Italy, Russia, France, Japan and elsewhere met at the Big Sky Resort to report their findings and plans for future work.

Peter Doran from the University of Illinois explained 13 recommendations from the U.S. National Research Council for carrying out subglacial research in Antarctica. Doran said it's important to minimize contamination, but standards can't be so strict that they discourage exploration.

Ancient Montana sea

Recent discoveries in the Blackleaf Formation fossil area in southwest Montana indicate that the site once sat on the edge of an ancient sea.

For a long time, paleontologists who explored the formation found only the fragments of reptile bones.

Then, during a dig that began in 2003, Montana State University scientists found fossils of burrowing dinosaurs that lived about 95 million years ago.

More recently, the researchers announced that they found shark teeth in the northern part of the formation. In the southwest part, they found remnants of fish, turtles and crocodiles, as well as teeth from larger dinosaurs.

The mix of land and sea creatures indicates that the Blackleaf Formation sat along the edge of an ancient sea, according to MSU paleontologist David Varricchio. His team presented their findings during a recent regional meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Pedal power

Four students and two instructors are spending three weeks on the road from Billings to Missoula in a summer course called Cycle Montana: Energy Alternatives for a New Century.

The course is offered by The University of Montana and the Wild Rockies Field Institute.

Beginning at an oil refinery in Billings, the group will cycle through much of the state to look at wind farms, geothermal heating projects and other forms of renewable energy. All the while the group will retain many of the trappings of a classroom n students are eligible to receive three credits from UM n including daily course readings and a smattering of guest lecturers.

After leaving Billings the group were to tour a coal-fired power plant near Roundup before heading into Central Montana n the "renewable energy" portion of the trip. Near Harlowton they will tour the Judith Gap wind farm and meet with farmers growing oilseed crops. On their way to Helena, they will visit a Hutterite colony to examine a heat recovery system and then tour a biomass fuels project in Townsend.

UM student Katie Pritchard, who won a $1,000 Cycle Montana Scholarship to attend the course, said, "The experiences I have on this journey will provide the in-depth information I need to help communities harness alternative, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy sources as part of sustainable development."

After a series of meetings in Helena, the class rolls up to Browning and thence through Glacier National Park. From Glacier the class heads south through the Swan Valley and back to Missoula, where they will give a presentation to community leaders on the conclusions they've drawn.