Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica
Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW), West Antarctica, is an active component of the subglacial hydrological network located beneath 800 m of ice. The fill and drain behavior of SLW leads to long (years to decades) water residence times relative to those in mountain glacier systems. Here, we present the a...
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ftmontanastateu:oai:scholarworks.montana.edu:1/9997 2023-05-15T13:55:57+02:00 Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica Michaud, Alexander B. Skidmore, Mark L. Mitchell, Andrew C. Vick-Majors, Trista J. 2016-05 application/pdf https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/9997 unknown Michaud, Alexander B., Mark L. Skidmore, Andrew C. Mitchell, and Trista J. Vick-Majors. "Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica." Geology 44, no. 5 (May 2016): 399-400. DOI:10.1130/G37639.1 . 0091-7613 https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/9997 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode CC-BY Article 2016 ftmontanastateu https://doi.org/10.1130/G37639.1 2022-06-06T07:24:27Z Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW), West Antarctica, is an active component of the subglacial hydrological network located beneath 800 m of ice. The fill and drain behavior of SLW leads to long (years to decades) water residence times relative to those in mountain glacier systems. Here, we present the aqueous geochemistry of the SLW water column and pore waters from a 38-cm-long sediment core. Stable isotopes indicate that the water is primarily sourced from basal-ice melt with a minor contribution from seawater that reaches a maximum of ∼6% in pore water at the bottom of the sediment core. Silicate weathering products dominate the crustal (non-seawater) component of lake- and pore-water solutes, and there is evidence for cation exchange processes within the clay-rich lake sediments. The crustal solute component ranges from 6 meq L–1 in lake waters to 17 meq L–1 in the deepest pore waters. The pore-water profiles of the major dissolved ions indicate a more concentrated solute source at depth (>38 cm). The combination of significant seawater and crustal components to SLW lake and sediment pore waters in concert with ion exchange processes result in a weathering regime that contrasts with other subglacial systems. The results also indicate cycling of marine water sourced from the sediments back to the ocean during lake drainage events. National Science Foundation (NSF, grants OPP-0838933, 1346250, and 1439774); Italian National Antarctic Program (Barbante); graduate fellowships from the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program (0654336) and NSF Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations; dissertation grant from the American Association of University Women Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica Montana State University (MSU): ScholarWorks Antarctic West Antarctica Whillans ENVELOPE(-64.250,-64.250,-84.450,-84.450) Geology 44 5 347 350 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Montana State University (MSU): ScholarWorks |
op_collection_id |
ftmontanastateu |
language |
unknown |
description |
Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW), West Antarctica, is an active component of the subglacial hydrological network located beneath 800 m of ice. The fill and drain behavior of SLW leads to long (years to decades) water residence times relative to those in mountain glacier systems. Here, we present the aqueous geochemistry of the SLW water column and pore waters from a 38-cm-long sediment core. Stable isotopes indicate that the water is primarily sourced from basal-ice melt with a minor contribution from seawater that reaches a maximum of ∼6% in pore water at the bottom of the sediment core. Silicate weathering products dominate the crustal (non-seawater) component of lake- and pore-water solutes, and there is evidence for cation exchange processes within the clay-rich lake sediments. The crustal solute component ranges from 6 meq L–1 in lake waters to 17 meq L–1 in the deepest pore waters. The pore-water profiles of the major dissolved ions indicate a more concentrated solute source at depth (>38 cm). The combination of significant seawater and crustal components to SLW lake and sediment pore waters in concert with ion exchange processes result in a weathering regime that contrasts with other subglacial systems. The results also indicate cycling of marine water sourced from the sediments back to the ocean during lake drainage events. National Science Foundation (NSF, grants OPP-0838933, 1346250, and 1439774); Italian National Antarctic Program (Barbante); graduate fellowships from the NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program (0654336) and NSF Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations; dissertation grant from the American Association of University Women |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Michaud, Alexander B. Skidmore, Mark L. Mitchell, Andrew C. Vick-Majors, Trista J. |
spellingShingle |
Michaud, Alexander B. Skidmore, Mark L. Mitchell, Andrew C. Vick-Majors, Trista J. Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica |
author_facet |
Michaud, Alexander B. Skidmore, Mark L. Mitchell, Andrew C. Vick-Majors, Trista J. |
author_sort |
Michaud, Alexander B. |
title |
Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica |
title_short |
Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica |
title_full |
Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica |
title_sort |
solute sources and geochemical processes in subglacial lake whillans, west antarctica |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/9997 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-64.250,-64.250,-84.450,-84.450) |
geographic |
Antarctic West Antarctica Whillans |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic West Antarctica Whillans |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica |
op_relation |
Michaud, Alexander B., Mark L. Skidmore, Andrew C. Mitchell, and Trista J. Vick-Majors. "Solute sources and geochemical processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, West Antarctica." Geology 44, no. 5 (May 2016): 399-400. DOI:10.1130/G37639.1 . 0091-7613 https://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/handle/1/9997 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1130/G37639.1 |
container_title |
Geology |
container_volume |
44 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
347 |
op_container_end_page |
350 |
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1766262946953953280 |