Abstract
THE Taylor and Wright Valleys, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, contain a series of lakes of particular geochemical interest. Several of these, including Lakes Bonney, Joyce, Fryxell and Hoare in the Taylor Valley and Lake Vanda in the Wright Valley, are, although ice covered, not completely frozen. They are also saline and strongly density stratified, with the waters at the bottom of the lakes containing large amounts of dissolved solids1–7. A recent survey of the concentrations of a number of trace elements in the water of the above lakes has been undertaken with the intention of elucidating the origin of the salts present in them8. This has shown that it is possible that Lake Bonney has had a sea water origin and that Lake Fryxell may also have contained some sea water in the past, but that it is unlikely that the other lakes considered here were of marine origin.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Angino, E. E., and Armitage, K. B., J. Geol., 71, 89 (1963).
Angino, E. E., Armitage, K. B., and Tash, J. C., Science, 138, 34 (1962).
Angino, E. E., Armitage, K. B., and Tash, J. C., Limnol. and Oceanog., 9, 207 (1964).
Armitage, K. B., and House, H. B., Limnol. and Oceanog., 7, 36 (1962).
Hoare, R. A., Popplewell, K. B., House, D. A., Henderson, R. A., Prebble, W. M., and Wilson, A. T., Nature, 202, 86 (1964).
Hoare, R. A., Popplewell, K. B., House, D. A., Henderson, R. A., Prebble, W. M., and Wilson, A. T., J. Geophys. Res., 70, 1555 (1965).
Wilson, A. T., and Wellman, H. W., Nature, 196, 1171 (1962).
Boswell, C. R., Brooks, R. R., and Wilson, A. T., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta (in the press).
Junge, C. E., Air Chemistry and Radioactivity (Academic Press, N.Y., 1963).
Angino, E. E., Armitage, K. B., and Tash, J. C., Univ. of Kansas Sci. Bull., 55, 1097 (1965).
Ragotzkie, R. A., and Likens, G. E., Limnol. and Oceanog., 9, 412 (1964).
Tedrow, J. C. F., Ugolini, F. C., and Janetschek, H., N.Z. J. Sci., 6, 150 (1963).
Keller, W. D., and Reesman, A. L., Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer., 74, 61 (1963).
Roberts, C. D., and Wilson, A. T., Nature, 207, 626 (1965).
Wilson, A. T., Nature, 201, 176 (1964).
Durum, W. H., and Haffty, J., U.S. Geol. Surv. Circ., 445, 11 (1960).
Durum, W. H., and Haffty, J., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 27, 1 (1963).
McKelvey, B. C., and Webb, P. N., Nature, 189, 545 (1961).
McKelvey, B. C., and Webb, P. N., N.Z. J. Geol. Geophys., 5, 143 (1962).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BOSWELL, C., BROOKS, R. & WILSON, A. Trace Element Content of Antarctic Lakes. Nature 213, 167–168 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/213167a0
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/213167a0
This article is cited by
-
Trace element distributions in some saline lakes of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica
Hydrobiologia (1988)
-
Pathway and distribution of trace elements in Lake Vanda, Antarctica
Nature (1982)
-
24. Chemistry, physics and evolution of Antarctic saline lakes
Hydrobiologia (1981)
-
Cavernous Weathering in the Taylor Dry Valley, Victoria Land, Antarctica
Nature (1967)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.