Site characteristics, and major and trace element composition of sediment cores sampled around the Windmill Islands in 1998 ...

• Main Authors: Gasparon, Massimo, Ehrler, Katharina, Matschullat, Jörg, Melles, Martin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2007
• Subjects: Priority Programme 1158 Antarctic Research with Comparable Investigations in Arctic Sea Ice Areas SPP1158; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctica; East Antarctica; Sea ice; Windmill Islands
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.847813; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.847813

To establish a natural background and its temporal and spatial variability for the area around Casey Station in the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica, the authors studied major and trace element concentrations and the distribution of organic matter in marine and lacustrine sediments. A wide range of natural variability in trace metal concentrations was identified between sites and within a time scale of 9 ka (e.g., Ni 5-37 mg/kg, Cu 20-190 mg/kg, Zn 50-300 mg/kg, Pb 4.5- 34 mg/kg). TOC concentrations are as high as 3 wt.% at the marine sites and 20 wt.% at the lacustrine sites, and indicate highly productive ecosystems. These data provide a background upon which the extent of human impact can be established, and existing data indicate negligible levels of disturbance. Geochemical and lithological data for a lacustrine sediment core from Beall Lake confirm earlier interpretation of recent climatic changes based on diatom distribution, and the onset of deglaciation in the northern part of the Windmill Islands ... : Supplement to: Gasparon, Massimo; Ehrler, Katharina; Matschullat, Jörg; Melles, Martin (2007): Temporal and spatial variability of geochemical backgrounds in the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica: Implications for climatic changes and human impacts. Applied Geochemistry, 22(5), 888-905 ...