Annual water temperature courses in two contrasting lakes at James Ross Island, Antarctica (Short Communication)

• Main Authors: Váczi, Peter, Hájek, Josef
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Masaryk Univerzity 2013
• Subjects: lake; episodic drying; summer season; winter season; temperature differences; Antarctic; Ross Island; Lachman; Antarc*; Antarctica; James Ross Island
• Online Access: http://journals.muni.cz/CPR/article/view/12970

In this Short Communication, long-term temperature courses of two contrasting Antarctic lakes are presented. The lakes differed in their different location, size, and origin. Big Lachman Lake is a typical coastal shallow lake located on a terrace at an altitude of about 9 m. Dulánek Lake is a small-area, shallow kettle lake located in the lateral moraine composed of the back-arc alkaline volcanic rocks of the James Ross Island Volcanic Group at the height of about 220 m a.s.l. The data presented in this study support an idea that the water courses differed between the two lakes due to altitude and local microclimate. Similarly, significant differences in annual and summer-season courses of water temperature were apparent when several consecutive seasons were compared. Such differences have consequences for water invertebrates and autotrophic organisms because of episodic drying out of some lakes and/or formation of long-term lasting ice.