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Spatial variations in the geochemistry of glacial meltwater streams in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2010

Kathleen A. Welch ,
W. Berry Lyons ,
Carla Whisner ,
Christopher B. Gardner ,
Michael N. Gooseff ,
Diane M. McKnight  and
John C. Priscu
Kathleen A. Welch*
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, Byrd Polar Research Center, 1090 Carmack Rd, 108 Scott Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
W. Berry Lyons
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, Byrd Polar Research Center, 1090 Carmack Rd, 108 Scott Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Carla Whisner
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, Byrd Polar Research Center, 1090 Carmack Rd, 108 Scott Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Christopher B. Gardner
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, Byrd Polar Research Center, 1090 Carmack Rd, 108 Scott Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Michael N. Gooseff
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Diane M. McKnight
Affiliation:
University of Colorado, INSTAAR, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA
John C. Priscu
Affiliation:
Dept LRES, 334 Leon Johnson Hall, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
*
welch.189@osu.edu
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Abstract

Streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, flow during the summer melt season (4–12 weeks) when air temperatures are close to the freezing point of water. Because of the low precipitation rates, streams originate from glacial meltwater and flow to closed-basin lakes on the valley floor. Water samples have been collected from the streams in the Dry Valleys since the start of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research project in 1993 and these have been analysed for ions and nutrient chemistry. Controls such as landscape position, morphology of the channels, and biotic and abiotic processes are thought to influence the stream chemistry. Sea-salt derived ions tend to be higher in streams that are closer to the ocean and those streams that drain the Taylor Glacier in western Taylor Valley. Chemical weathering is an important process influencing stream chemistry throughout the Dry Valleys. Nutrient availability is dependent on landscape age and varies with distance from the coast. The streams in Taylor Valley span a wide range in composition and total dissolved solids and are surprisingly similar to a wide range of much larger temperate and tropical river systems.

Keywords

geochemistrynutrientsspatial variabiltystreamsweathering
Type
Research Article
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 22 , Special Issue 6: The Latitudinal Gradient Project (LGP) , December 2010 , pp. 662 - 672
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2010

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