Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Geochemistry of streams from Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island

Geochemistry of streams from Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island AbstractIn January and February 2009, a series of water samples were collected from streams on Byers Peninsula. These samples were analysed for major elements and δ18O to determine the role of lithology and landscape position on stream geochemistry, and to understand better the hydrology (i.e. residence time of water) of these systems. Precipitation chemistry is enriched in Na+, as are the streams located close to the coast. Streams originating from inland locations have much higher percentages of Ca2+. In contrast, Mg2+ varied little, though streams that are in greater contact with volcanic-derived soils have slightly higher concentrations. Anion percentages varied greatly between streams with SO42- ranging from 5% to 45% of the anion composition. Dissolved Si concentrations as high as 141 μM were observed. All these data suggest that active chemical weathering is occurring in this region. A time series over 13 days at one stream showed little variation in major element geochemistry. The δ18O of precipitation samples collected over this same period varied by ∼10‰ while the majority of stream samples varied less than ∼1.5‰. These data indicate that the stream waters represent mixtures of precipitation events, melting snow and water from the subsurface that had gained solutes through chemical weathering. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Antarctic Science Cambridge University Press

Geochemistry of streams from Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island

Antarctic Science , Volume 25 (2): 10 – Mar 20, 2013
Download PDF
10 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/cambridge-university-press/geochemistry-of-streams-from-byers-peninsula-livingston-island-LzA8xaqPVf
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013
ISSN
1365-2079
eISSN
0954-1020
DOI
10.1017/S0954102012000776
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractIn January and February 2009, a series of water samples were collected from streams on Byers Peninsula. These samples were analysed for major elements and δ18O to determine the role of lithology and landscape position on stream geochemistry, and to understand better the hydrology (i.e. residence time of water) of these systems. Precipitation chemistry is enriched in Na+, as are the streams located close to the coast. Streams originating from inland locations have much higher percentages of Ca2+. In contrast, Mg2+ varied little, though streams that are in greater contact with volcanic-derived soils have slightly higher concentrations. Anion percentages varied greatly between streams with SO42- ranging from 5% to 45% of the anion composition. Dissolved Si concentrations as high as 141 μM were observed. All these data suggest that active chemical weathering is occurring in this region. A time series over 13 days at one stream showed little variation in major element geochemistry. The δ18O of precipitation samples collected over this same period varied by ∼10‰ while the majority of stream samples varied less than ∼1.5‰. These data indicate that the stream waters represent mixtures of precipitation events, melting snow and water from the subsurface that had gained solutes through chemical weathering.

Journal

Antarctic Science – Cambridge University Press

Published: Mar 20, 2013

Keywords: Antarctic; freshwater; hydrology; lithology; South Shetland Islands

References

  • A late Holocene lake sediment sequence from Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, with palaeoclimatic implications
  • Carbonate versus silicate weathering in the Raikhot watershed within the High Himalayan Crystalline Series
  • Planktonic microbial assemblages and the potential effects of metazooplankton predation on the food web of lakes from the maritime Antarctica and sub Antarctic islands
  • Chemistry of streams of Signy Island, maritime Antarctic: sources of major ions
  • Stratigraphy and regional significance of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous Byers Group, Livingston Island, Antarctica
  • Geochemistry of large river suspended sediments: silicate weathering or recycling tracer?
  • Stream geochemistry, chemical weathering and CO2 consumption potential of andesitic terrains, Dominica, Lesser Antilles
  • Weathering reactions and hyporheic exchange controls on stream water chemistry in a glacial meltwater stream in the McMurdo Dry Valleys
  • Geochemical processes in the Onyx River, Wright Valley, Antarctica: major ions, nutrients, trace metals
  • Enhanced bedrock weathering in association with late-lying snowpatches: evidence from Livingston Island, Antarctica
  • Hydrological control of stream water chemistry in a glacial catchment (Damma Glacier, Switzerland)
  • Tephra analysis of sediments from Midge Lake (South Shetland Islands) and Sombre Lake (South Orkney Islands), Antarctica
  • Biogeochemistry of snowmelt in an Antarctic glacial ecosystem
  • Chemical weathering and solute export by meltwater in a maritime Antarctic glacier basin
  • Major ion chemistry of some large Chinese rivers
  • The relationship between water chemistry and surface sediment diatom assemblages in maritime Antarctic lakes
  • Stream geochemistry as an indicator of increasing permafrost thaw depth in an Arctic watershed
  • Geochemistry of soils of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica: implications for pedogenesis in cold polar regions
  • Chemical weathering in high sediment-yielding watersheds, New Zealand
  • The geochemistry of upland ponds, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
  • Geochemical linkages among glaciers, streams, and lakes within the Taylor Valley, Antarctica
  • Dry Valley streams in Antarctica: ecosystems waiting for water
  • Northern latitude chemical weathering rates: clues from the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada
  • Soil characteristics on varying lithological substrates in the South Shetland Islands, maritime Antarctica
  • Chemical weathering in streams of a polar desert (Taylor Valley, Antarctica)
  • Seasonal observations of stable isotope variations in a valley catchment, Signy Island, South Orkney Islands
  • Using tephrochronology to date temperate ice: correlation between ice tephras on Livingston Island and eruptive units on Deception Island volcano (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica)
  • Seasonal export of carbon, nitrogen and major solutes from Alaskan catchments with discontinuous permafrost
  • Basalt weathering in central Siberia under permafrost conditions
  • Byers Peninsula: a reference site for coastal, terrestrial, and limnetic ecosystem studies in maritime Antarctica
  • Interannual meteorological variability and its effects on a lake from Maritime Antarctica
  • Geology of a Mesozoic intra-arc sequence on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands
  • The geology of the South Shetland Islands: VI. Stratigraphy, geochemistry and evolution
  • Lithostratigraphy of volcanic and sedimentary sequences in central Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands
  • Limnological characteristics of the freshwater ecosystems of Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, in maritime Antarctica
  • Spatial variations in the geochemistry of glacial meltwater streams in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica