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Geochemistry of streams from Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

W. Berry Lyons ,
K.A. Welch ,
S.A. Welch ,
A. Camacho ,
C. Rochera ,
L. Michaud ,
R. deWit  and
A.E. Carey
W. Berry Lyons*
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences and Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
K.A. Welch
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences and Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
S.A. Welch
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences and Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
A. Camacho
Affiliation:
Institute Cavanilles of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology - University of Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
C. Rochera
Affiliation:
Institute Cavanilles of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology - University of Valencia, 46100 Burjassot, Spain
L. Michaud
Affiliation:
University of Messina, Italy
R. deWit
Affiliation:
University of Montpellier, France
A.E. Carey
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences and Byrd Polar Research Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
*
[email protected]
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Abstract

In January and February 2009, a series of water samples were collected from streams on Byers Peninsula. These samples were analysed for major elements and δ18O to determine the role of lithology and landscape position on stream geochemistry, and to understand better the hydrology (i.e. residence time of water) of these systems. Precipitation chemistry is enriched in Na+, as are the streams located close to the coast. Streams originating from inland locations have much higher percentages of Ca2+. In contrast, Mg2+ varied little, though streams that are in greater contact with volcanic-derived soils have slightly higher concentrations. Anion percentages varied greatly between streams with SO42- ranging from 5% to 45% of the anion composition. Dissolved Si concentrations as high as 141 μM were observed. All these data suggest that active chemical weathering is occurring in this region. A time series over 13 days at one stream showed little variation in major element geochemistry. The δ18O of precipitation samples collected over this same period varied by ∼10‰ while the majority of stream samples varied less than ∼1.5‰. These data indicate that the stream waters represent mixtures of precipitation events, melting snow and water from the subsurface that had gained solutes through chemical weathering.

Keywords

AntarcticfreshwaterhydrologylithologySouth Shetland Islands
Type
Research Articles
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 2: Byers Peninsula – A New Reference Site For The Maritime Antarctic , April 2013 , pp. 181 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013

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