. 24/7 Space News .
ICE WORLD
Research shows Antarctic lakes are a repository for ancient soot
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 15, 2016


A US Antarctic Program helicopter flies through the McMurdo Dry Valleys.

Remote lakes in a perpetually ice-free area of Antarctica show not only the chemical signature of ancient wildfires, but also some much more recent evidence of fossil-fuel combustion, according to National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The research is based on examination of the levels of dissolved black carbon (DBC) that persist in freshwater and saline lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, a mountainous polar desert across McMurdo Sound from the NSF's logistics hub in Antarctica, McMurdo Station. NSF manages the US. Antarctic Program.

In addition to being almost completely scoured of ice and snow by high winds, the Dry Valleys are the site of ice-covered lakes, which experience seasonal, temperature-related advances and retreats in their amount of ice cover during the Southern Hemisphere's summer months, sometimes resulting in a temporary "moat" around the icy surface of the lakes.

They also have some unusual characteristics that make them scientifically interesting repositories for materials like DBC, which are carried into the lakes by local streams or through atmospheric circulation.

Michael Gooseff, the lead principal investigator for the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Project, noted, for example, that in the very recent geological past - several thousand years ago - the lakes were at much higher levels and filled the Valleys. The lakes that remain are thought to be remnants of those larger bodies of water and to have collected materials like DBC over a very long time.

He added that the lakes in the Dry Valleys are, like most other lakes, storehouses of materials that find their way into them. But they also have an unusual characteristic important to DBC research; they are closed basins with no outlets.

In short, Gooseff said, "What goes into the lake, stays."

Alia L. Khan, with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Institute of Arctic and Alpine Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder is lead author on the paper. She is the recipient of an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

She and other researchers with the Dry Valleys LTER, argue in the paper that brines in the lake bottoms retain DBC whose "woody signature" indicates the source is likely to have been burning - such as wildfires and other natural events - at lower latitudes as many as 2,500 years ago or more.

Black carbon from those fires - more commonly known as soot - would have been transported by atmospheric winds and deposited in Antarctic glaciers and later entered in lakes through freshwater run-off from nearby glaciers.

The research also indicates DBC levels from fossil fuel traces have increased in the past 25 years, but these concentrations are small in comparison to those associated with wildfires from more than 1,000 years ago. The researchers argue that these more modern traces could have two possible sources.

The first is that helicopters frequently fly in and out of the Dry Valleys to transport researchers and scientific cargo into the field. Most of this flying occurs at the peak of the Antarctic summer when the lake surfaces in the valleys experience a seasonal melt.

The researchers hypothesize, therefore, that emissions from the flights could settle into the moats and become DBC.

They also add that some of the carbon could come from long-range transport of carbon produced by burning of fossil fuels in other areas of the globe.

In either event, they note, their measurements may serve as baselines for tracking environmental quality in the Dry Valleys. "This fossil fuel signature could serve as an indicator of anthropogenic influences in Antarctic environments, which may continue to expand in the future."


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
National Science Foundation
Beyond the Ice Age






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ICE WORLD
Antarctic coastline images reveal 4 decades of ice loss to ocean
Edinburgh, UK (SPX) Jun 06, 2016
Part of Antarctica has been losing ice to the ocean for far longer than had been expected, satellite pictures reveal. A study of images along 2000km of West Antarctica's coastline has shown the loss of about 1000km2 of ice - an area equivalent to the city of Berlin - over the past 40 years. Researchers were surprised to find that the region has been losing ice for such a length of time. Th ... read more


ICE WORLD
US may approve private venture moon mission: report

Fifty Years of Moon Dust

Airbus Defence and Space to guide lunar lander to the Moon

A new, water-logged history of the Moon

ICE WORLD
Study of Opportunity Wheel Scuff Continues

Mars 'colonists' to undergo five days of tests

SpaceX could send people to Mars by 2024, Elon Musk says

Red and Golden Planets at Opposition

ICE WORLD
Tech, beauty intersect in Silicon Valley

Second Starliner Begins Assembly in Florida Factory

Mexican engineer extracts gas from urine to heat shower

What Does it Take to Become a NASA Astronaut?

ICE WORLD
Bolivia to pay back loan to China for Tupac Katari satellite

China plans 5 new space science satellites

NASA Chief: Congress Should Revise US-China Space Cooperation Law

Chine's satellite industry eyes global satellite market

ICE WORLD
Astronauts enter inflatable room at space station

First steps into BEAM will expand the frontiers of habitats for space

Russia delays launch of new crew to ISS until July 7

Airbus DS and ESA launch external commercial payload platform for the ISS

ICE WORLD
EchoStar XVIII and BRIsat are installed on Arianespace's Ariane 5

United Launch Alliance gets $138 million Atlas V contract

SpaceX makes fourth successful rocket landing

Arianespace to supply payload dispenser systems for OneWeb constellation

ICE WORLD
Likely new planet may be in slow death spiral

On exoplanets, atmospheric water may be hiding behind clouds

Astronomers find giant planet around very young star

Planet 1,200 Light-Years Away Is Good Prospect for a Habitable World

ICE WORLD
Lean Xbox One eyes gamers as PlayStation VR turns heads

E3 video game show comes with rise of celebrity player

Neutrons reveal unexpected magnetism in rare-earth alloy

Plant lignin improves efficacy of sunscreen









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.