Stocktake Sale on now: wide range of books at up to 70% off!
Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF23080
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 74(15)

On the chemistry of small waterbodies linked to marine aerosols and local geology on the Windmill Islands and mainland near Casey Station, Antarctica

Patrick De Deckker https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3003-5143 A * , Allan R. Chivas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1459-6330 A B C , Elmer Kiss E and Nicole Mikkelson D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

C Department of Earth Sciences and Sprigg Geobiology Centre, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

D Geochemical Scientific Pty Ltd, PO Box 241, Townsville, Qld 4810, Australia.

E Deceased. Formerly at Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

* Correspondence to: patrick.dedeckker@anu.edu.au

Handling Editor: Max Finlayson

Marine and Freshwater Research 74(15) 1275-1295 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF23080
Submitted: 24 April 2023  Accepted: 22 August 2023   Published: 18 September 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

In total, 43 shallow waterbodies were sampled in 1983 in the vicinity of Casey Station and nearby islands in Antarctica. The following physico-chemical parameters were obtained: water and air temperature, pH, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, plus major and minor elements.

Aims

To identify the physico-chemical characteristics of these waters and determine their origin, and calculate their mineral saturation indices.

Methods

Waters were analysed using standard methods, including for some elements, flame-atomic absorption spectrometry, spectrophotometry, ion chromatography and gravimetric determination. Mineral saturation indices were calculated using the PHREEQ program.

Key results

Water salinities were generally low and in the range of 120–1200 mg L−1 (total dissolved solids, TDS), except for one site connected to the sea, and four slightly saline sites. The Na/Cl, Cl/Br and Ca/SO4 ratios of several waters were in the vicinity of seawater ratios, implying a contribution of marine aerosols. However, the Mg/Ca ratio of most waters departed from the seawater ratio, plus there was concordance between the molar ratios of (Na + K)/(Ca + Mg) of many of the waters sampled and those calculated from rock geochemical analyses from diverse lithologies. Such chemical ‘provincialism’ appears to be dictated by rock composition. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations were high in the vicinity of penguin rookeries.

Conclusions

Two sources of ions are identified, one as marine aerosols as shown by three sets of ratios (Na/Cl, Cl/Br and Ca/SO4) with known marine values, and the other from the weathering of local rocks as shown by (Na + K)/(Ca + Mg) of the lake waters compared to the same ratios for the surrounding rocks. Only a few waterbodies have saturation levels for several carbonate minerals (calcite, aragonite, dolomite and rhodochrosite).

Implications

Future work is recommended for monitoring the waterbodies surrounding Casey Station as a result of the increased atmospheric CO2 concentration that has occurred over the past 40 years, and likely also with the cessation of building activities around Casey Station.

Keywords: Antarctica, carbonates, Cl/Br, major anion to cation ratios, marine aerosols, mineral saturation indices, Na/Cl, penguin rookery, water chemistry.

References

Adamson E, Seppelt R (1990) A comparison of airborne alkaline pollution damage in selected lichens and mosses at Casey Station, Wilkes Land, Antarctica. In ‘Antarctic ecosystems’. (Eds KR Kerry, G Hempel) pp. 347–353. (Springer) doi:10.1007/978-3-642-84074-6_38

Adamson E, Adamson H, Seppelt R (1994) Cement dust contamination of Ceratodon purpureus at Casey, East Antarctica: damage and capacity for recovery. Journal of Bryology 18, 127-137.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Alcalá FJ, Custodio E (2008) Using the Cl/Br ratio as a tracer to identify the origin of salinity in aquifers in Spain and Portugal. Journal of Hydrology 359, 189-207.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Barker RJ (1981) Physical and chemical parameters of Deep Lake, Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. ANARE Scientific Reports Series B(V) Limnology publication 130, pp. 1–73, Australian Government, Department of Science and the Environment, Antarctic Division.

Barrett JE, Virginia RA, Lyons WB, McKnight DM, Priscu JC, Doran PT, Fountain AG, Wall DH, Moorhead DL (2007) Biogeochemical stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley ecosystems. Journal of Geophysical Research 112, G01010.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Benassai S, Becagli S, Gragnani R, Magand O, Proposito M, Fattori I, Traversi R, Udisti R (2005) Sea-spray deposition in Antarctic coastal and plateau areas from ITASE traverses. Annals of Glaciology 41, 32-40.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Bethke CM (2008) ‘Geochemical and biogeochemical reaction modeling.’ 2nd edn. (Cambridge University Press: New York, NY, USA)

Bird MI, Chivas AR, Radnell CJ, Burton HR (1991) Sedimentological and stable-isotope evolution of lakes in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 84, 109-130.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Blight DF (1975) The metamorphic geology of the Windmill Islands and adjacent coastal areas, Antarctica. PhD thesis, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia. Available at https://hdl.handle.net/2440/19946

Blight DF, Oliver RL (1977) The metamorphic geology of the Windmill Islands, Antarctica: a preliminary account. Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 24, 239-262.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Blight DF, Oliver RL (1982) Aspects of the geological history of the Windmill Islands, Antarctica. In ‘Antarctic Geoscience’. (Ed. C. Craddock) pp. 445–454. (University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, WI, USA)

De Deckker P, Kiss E, Chivas AR (1991) The suitability of lakes on the Windmill Islands in Antarctica for palaeolimnological studies. In ‘Quaternary research in Australian Antarctica. Future directions’. (Eds D Gillieson, S Fitzsimons) Special Publication 3, pp. 69–77. (Department of Geography and Oceanography, University College, Australian Defence Force Academy: Canberra, ACT, Australia)

Doran PT, Priscu JC, Lyons WB, Powell RD, Andersen DT, Poreda RJ (2004) Paleolimnology of extreme cold terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. In ‘Long-term environmental change in arctic and antarctic lakes, Vol. 8. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research’. (Eds JP Smol, R Pienitz, MSV Douglas) pp. 475–507. (Springer: Dordrecht, Netherlands)

Everitt DA (1981) An ecological study of an Antarctic freshwater pool with particular reference to Tardigrada and Rotifera. Hydrobiologia 83, 225-237.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Florence TM, Farrar YJ (1971) Spectrophotometric determination of chloride at the parts-per-billion level by the mercury(II) thiocyanate method. Analytica Chimica Acta 54, 373-377.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Fontes JC, Yousfi M, Allison GB (1986) Estimation of long-term, diffuse groundwater discharge in the northern Sahara using stable isotope profiles in soil water. Journal of Hydrology 86, 315-327.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Goodwin ID, Zweck C (2000) Glacio-isostasy and glacial ice load at Law Dome, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. Quaternary Research 53, 285-293.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Gooseff MN, McKnight DM, Lyons WB, Blum AE (2002) Weathering reactions and hyporheic exchange controls on stream water chemistry in a glacial meltwater stream in the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Water Resources Research 38(12), 1279.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Gore DB, Creagh DC, Burgess JS, Colhoun EA, Spate AP, Baird AS (1996) Composition, distribution and origin of surficial salts in the Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 8, 73-84.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hansen RK, Hall RH (1977) An improved general method for the reduction of analytical errors in flame emission and atomic absorption spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta 92, 307-320.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Harmon RS, Leslie DL, Lyons WB, Welch KA, McKnight DM (2020) Geochemistry of contrasting stream types, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. GSA Bulletin 133, 425-448.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hem JD (1992) Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural water. US Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2254, US Geological Survey. doi:10.3133/wsp2254

Hirabayashi J, Ossaka J (1976) 南極プリンスオラフ沿岸に分布する湖沼水の水質について [On the chemical compositions and origin of lake waters in Prince Olav Coast, Antarctica.]. 南極資料 [Antarctic Data] 57, 56-72 [In Japanese].
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Hunke EC, Notz D, Turner AK, Vancoppenolle M (2011) The multiphase physics of sea ice: a review for model developers. The Cryosphere 5, 989-1009.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kirkup H, Melles M, Gore DB (2002) Late Quaternary environment of southern Windmill Islands, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 14, 385-394.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Kiss E (1982) Determination of silica in geological materials by atomic absorption spectrometry. Analytica Chimica Acta 140, 197-204.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Laybourn-Parry J (2003) Polar limnology, the past, the present and the future. In ‘Proceedings of the Antarctic Biology in a global context’. (Eds AHL Huiskes, WWC Gieskes, J Rozema, SM Schorno, SM van der Vies, WJ Wolff) pp. 321–329. (Backhuys Publishers: Leiden, Netherlands)

Laybourne-Parry J, Wadham J (2014) ‘Antarctic Lakes.’ (Oxford University Press)

Lyons W, Fountain R, Doran P, Priscu CJ, Neumann K, Welch KA (2000) Importance of landscape position and legacy: the evolution of the lakes in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Freshwater Biology 43, 355-367.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lyons WB, Welch KA, Fountain AG, Dana GL, Vaughn BH, McKnight DM (2003) Surface glaciochemistry of Taylor Valley, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica and its relationship to stream chemistry. Hydrological Processes 17, 115-130.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Lyons WB, Leslie DL, Gooseff MN (2021) Chemical weathering in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. In ‘Hydrogeology, chemical weathering, and soil formation. Geophysical Monograph Series 257’. (Eds A Hunt, M Egli, B Faybishenko) pp. 205–216. (American Geophysical Union: Washington, DC, USA)

MacNamara EE (1970) Some limnological observations from Enderby Land, Antarctica. Limnology and Oceanography 15, 768-775.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Matsubaya O, Sakai H, Torii T, Burton H, Kerry K (1979) Antarctic saline lakes – stable isotopic ratios, chemical compositions and evolution. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43, 7-25.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Maurice PA, McKnight DM, Leff L, Fulghum JE, Gooseff M (2002) Direct observations of aluminosilicate weathering in the hyporheic zone of an Antarctic Dry Valley stream. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 66, 1335-1347.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Meredith M, Sommerkorn M, Cassotta S, Derksen C, Ekaykin A, Hollowed A, Kofinas G, Mackintosh A, Melbourne-Thomas J, Muelbert MMC, Ottersen G, Pritchard H, Schuur EAG (2019) Polar regions. In ‘IPCC special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate’. (Eds H-O Pörtner, DC Roberts, V Masson-Delmotte, P Zhai, M Tignor, E Poloczanska, K Mintenbeck, A Alegría, M Nicolai, A Okem, J Petzold, B Rama, NM Weyer) pp. 203–320. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK) doi:10.1017/9781009157964.005

National Resource Information Centre (1997) Geology of the Windmill Islands. Lithology. 27 February 1997. NIRC, Bureau of Resource Sciences for Australian Antarctic Division.

Parkhurst DL, Appelo CAJ (2013) Description of input and examples for PHREEQC version 3—A computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations. Chapter A43 of Section A, Groundwater Book 6, Modeling Techniques. In ‘Techniques and methods 6–A43’. (US Geological Survey) doi:10.3133/tm6A43

Paul E, Stuwe K, Teasdale J, Worley B (1995) Structural and metamorphic geology of the Windmill Islands, east Antarctica: field evidence for repeated tectonothermal activity. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 42, 453-469.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Peng Y, Ji W, Zhang D, Ji H, Liu S (2019) Composition and content analysis of fluoride in inorganic salts of the integument of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). Scientific Reports 9, 7853.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Plummer LN, Jones BF, Truesdell AH (1976) WATEQF-a – FORTRAN IV version of WATEQ, a computer program for calculating chemical equilibrium of natural waters. Water-Resources Investigations 76–13, Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Water Resources Division, Reston, VA, USA. doi:10.3133/wri7613

Roberts D, McMinn A, Johnston N, Gore DB, Melles M, Cremer H (2001) An analysis of the limnology and sedimentary diatom flora of fourteen lakes and ponds from the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 13, 410-419.
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Stark JS, Johnstone GJ, King C, Raymond T, Rutter A, Stark SC, Townsend AT (2023) Contamination of the marine environment by Antarctic research stations: monitoring marine pollution at Casey Station from 1997 to 2015. PLoS ONE 18(8), e0288485.
| Crossref | Google Scholar | PubMed |

Thomas CW (1965) On populations in Antarctic meltwater pools. Pacific Science 19, 515-521.
| Google Scholar |

Vincent WF, Laybourne-Parry J (Eds) (2008) ‘Polar lakes and rivers: limnology of Arctic and Antarctic aquatic ecosystems.’ (Oxford University Press)

Wagenbach D, Ducroz F, Mulvaney R, Keck L, Minikin A, Legrand M, Hall JS, Wolff EW (1998) Sea-salt aerosol in coastal Antarctic regions. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 103((D9)), 10961-10974.
| Google Scholar |

Winkler LW (1888) Die Bestimmung des im Wasser gelösten Sauerstoffes [The determination of dissolved oxygen in water]. Berichte der Deutschen Chemischen Gesellschaft 21, 2843-2854 [In German].
| Crossref | Google Scholar |

Yamagata N, Torii T, Murata S, Watanuki K (1967) Report of the Japanese Summer Parties in Dry Valleys, Victoria Land, 1963-1965. VII. Chemical composition of pond waters in Ross Island with reference to those in Ongul Island. Antarctic Record 29, 53–75.
| Google Scholar |