Publication Date:
2020-07-01
Description:
The McMurdo Dry Valley region is the largest ice-free area of Antarctica. Ephemeral streams flow here during the austral summer, transporting glacial meltwater to perennially ice-covered, closed basin lakes. The chemistry of 24 Taylor Valley streams was examined over the two-decade period of monitoring from 1993 to 2014, and the geochemical behavior of two streams of contrasting physical and biological character was monitored across the seven weeks of the 2010−2011 flow season. Four species dominate stream solute budgets: HCO3−, Ca2+, Na+, and Cl−, with SO42−, Mg2+, and K+ present in significantly lesser proportions. All streams contain dissolved silica at low concentrations. Across Taylor Valley, streams are characterized by their consistent anionic geochemical fingerprint of HCO3〉Cl〉SO4, but there is a split in cation composition between 14 streams with Ca〉Na〉Mg〉K and 10 streams with Na〉Ca〉Mg〉K. Andersen Creek is a first-order proglacial stream representative of the 13 short streams that flow
Print ISSN:
0016-7606
Electronic ISSN:
1943-2674
Topics:
Geosciences
Permalink