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The Saline Lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

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Abstract

The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are among a rare group of ice-free regions lying along the coast of an otherwise ice-burdened continent. For Antarctica, these are highly atypical regions of exposed rock and barren soils. Within their 4,000 km2 expanse, the valleys contain a number of permanently ice-covered, closed-basin lakes, which range from freshwater to highly saline environments. This paper examines the physical structure, geochemistry, nutrient and trace metal dynamics, biology, and hydrologic history of saline Lake Bonney (both east and west lobes), Fryxell, Vanda, and Joyce and provides an update to recently published volumes on these pristine systems.

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Acknowledgments

WBL’s work has been supported through the following National Science Foundation grants: OPP-9211773, OPP-9813061, OPP ANT-0423595. The MCM-LTER results discussed in this paper were collected and analyzed by a number of diligent and dedicated individuals but, in particular, special thanks go to J.C. Priscu. D.M. McKnight, P.T. Doran, J. Laybourn-Parry, and K.A. Welch. Both authors thank Kathy Welch, Michele Larrimer, and Chris Gardner for their help and expertise in preparing the manuscript. WJG’s work has been funded by the National Science Foundation. Much gratitude is owed to the many fine undergraduate students who participated in this research and to the author’s friends and collaborators over the years: Don Canfield, Tom Gardner, Tim Ferdelman, Mike Angle, and Bonnie Bratina. Thanks, also, to Bob Benoit of Virginia Tech who introduced the author to the McMurdo Dry Valleys and to Gunter Faure and Fred Lee who provided much-needed encouragement and insight during the early days of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western College Program, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    William J. Green

  2. Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210-1002, USA

    W. Berry Lyons

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  1. William J. Green
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Correspondence to William J. Green.

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Green, W.J., Lyons, W.B. The Saline Lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Aquat Geochem 15, 321–348 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-008-9052-1

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