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Chemical limnology in coastal East Antarctic lakes: monitoring future climate change in centres of endemism and biodiversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2011

Elie Verleyen ,
Dominic A. Hodgson ,
John Gibson ,
Satoshi Imura ,
Enn Kaup ,
Sakae Kudoh ,
Aaike De Wever ,
Tamotsu Hoshino ,
Andrew McMinn  and
Dagmar Obbels
...Show all authors
Elie Verleyen*
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Dominic A. Hodgson
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
John Gibson
Affiliation:
Landscape Logic, Marine Research Laboratories, Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, Private Bag 49, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
Satoshi Imura
Affiliation:
National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3, Midori-machi, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan
Enn Kaup
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology at Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
Sakae Kudoh
Affiliation:
National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3, Midori-machi, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-8518, Japan
Aaike De Wever
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
Tamotsu Hoshino
Affiliation:
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 2-17-2-1, Tsukisamu-higashi, Toyohir-ku, Sapporo 062-8517, Japan
Andrew McMinn
Affiliation:
Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
Dagmar Obbels
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Donna Roberts
Affiliation:
Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre, Private Bag 80, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
Steve Roberts
Affiliation:
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Koen Sabbe
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Caroline Souffreau
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Ines Tavernier
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Wim van Nieuwenhuyze
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Eric van Ranst
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Soil Science (WE13), Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Nicole Vindevogel
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Soil Science (WE13), Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Wim Vyverman
Affiliation:
Lab. Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
*
elie.verleyen@ugent.be
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Abstract

Polar lakes respond quickly to climate-induced environmental changes. We studied the chemical limnological variability in 127 lakes and ponds from eight ice-free regions along the East Antarctic coastline, and compared repeat specific conductance measurements from lakes in the Larsemann Hills and Skarvsnes covering the periods 1987–2009 and 1997–2008, respectively. Specific conductance, the concentration of the major ions, pH and the concentration of the major nutrients underlie the variation in limnology between and within the regions. This limnological variability is probably related to differences in the time of deglaciation, lake origin and evolution, geology and geomorphology of the lake basins and their catchment areas, sub-regional climate patterns, the distance of the lakes and the lake districts to the ice sheet and the Southern Ocean, and the presence of particular biota in the lakes and their catchment areas. In regions where repeat surveys were available, inter-annual and inter-decadal variability in specific conductance was relatively large and most pronounced in the non-dilute lakes with a low lake depth to surface area ratio. We conclude that long-term specific conductance measurements in these lakes are complementary to snow accumulation data from ice cores, inexpensive, easy to obtain, and should thus be part of long-term limnological and biological monitoring programmes.

Keywords

hydrological balanceLützow-Holm BayPrydz BaySchirmacher Oasissnow accumulationspecific conductance
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , 06 February 2012 , pp. 23 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2011

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Footnotes

*

These authors contributed equally to this work

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Supplementary material: File

Verleyen Supplementary Figure

Figure S1. A subsample of lakes in the East Antarctic limnological dataset

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Supplementary material: File

Verleyen Supplementary Table

Table S1: Limnological variables measured in the 127 East Antarctic lakes

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