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Influence of Late Holocene climate on Lake Eggers hydrology, McMurdo Sound

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2021

E.J. Chamberlain Open the ORCID record for E.J. Chamberlain [Opens in a new window] ,
A.J. Christ Open the ORCID record for A.J. Christ [Opens in a new window]  and
R.W. Fulweiler Open the ORCID record for R.W. Fulweiler [Opens in a new window]
E.J. Chamberlain*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA02215USA
A.J. Christ
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA02215USA Department of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT05405, USA
R.W. Fulweiler
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA02215USA Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA02215, USA
*
echamber@ucsd.edu
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Abstract

Ice-covered lakes in Antarctica preserve records of regional hydroclimate and harbour extreme ecosystems that may serve as terrestrial analogues for exobiotic environments. Here, we examine the impacts of hydroclimate and landscape on the formation history of Lake Eggers, a small ice-sealed lake, located in the coastal polar desert of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica (78°S). Using ground penetrating radar surveys and three lake ice cores we characterize the ice morphology and chemistry. Lake ice geochemistry indicates that Lake Eggers is fed primarily from local snowmelt that accreted onto the lake surface during runoff events. Radiocarbon ages of ice-encased algae suggest basal ice formed at least 735 ± 20 calibrated years before present (1215 C.E.). Persisting through the Late Holocene, Lake Eggers alternated between periods of ice accumulation and sublimation driven by regional climate variability in the western Ross Sea. For example, particulate organic matter displayed varying δ15N ratios with depth, corresponding to sea ice fluctuations in the western Ross Sea during the Late Holocene. These results suggest a strong climatic control on the hydrologic regime shifts shaping ice formation at Lake Eggers.

Keywords

AntarcticahydroclimateLittle Ice AgeRoss Seawater-balance
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 217 - 229
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Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2021

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Footnotes

*

Current address: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA

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