Hydrochemical and isotopic baselines for understanding hydrological processes across Macquarie Island ...

• Main Authors: Meredith, KT, Saunders, KM, McDonough, LK, McGeoch, Melodie
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: La Trobe 2023
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Geochemistry; FOS Earth and related environmental sciences; Physical geography and environmental geoscience; Macquarie Island; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26181/23557728; https://opal.latrobe.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Hydrochemical_and_isotopic_baselines_for_understanding_hydrological_processes_across_Macquarie_Island/23557728

Isotopic and hydrochemical data from lakes provide direct information on catchment response to changing rainfall, evaporation, nutrient cycling, and the health of ecosystems. These techniques have not been widely applied to lakes in the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes, including Southern Ocean Islands (SOIs) experiencing rapid, significant shifts in climate. Historical work has highlighted the localised nature of geochemical drivers in controlling the hydrochemical evolution of lakes, such as geology, sea spray contribution, vegetation, geographical location, and ice cover extent. The role of groundwater in lake hydrology and hydrochemistry has not been identified until now, and its omission will have major implications for interpreting soil–water–air processes affecting lakes. Here we present the first comprehensive, island-wide hydrochemical and isotopic survey of lakes on a SOI. Forty lakes were examined across Macquarie Island, using comparable methods to identify key environmental processes and their ...