东南极内陆格罗夫山地区冰厚及冰下地形特征

中国第30次南极科学考察队格罗夫山分队(CHINARE30, 2013-2014年)利用雪地车载深层探冰雷达在东南极格罗夫山地区开展了测线总长度超过200 km大范围、高分辨率的冰厚及冰下地形调查, 获得了哈丁山北部和萨哈罗夫岭与阵风悬崖之间详细的冰厚及冰下地形特征. 通过对雷达数据分析表明, 哈丁山北部区域平均冰厚为580 m, 最大冰厚超过1 000 m, 出现在该区域的东北方向, 而东南方向冰厚相对较小; 萨哈罗夫岭与阵风悬崖之间区域的平均冰厚为610 m, 最大冰厚超过1 100 m, 该区域槽谷发育十分成熟, 槽谷形态近似呈U型. 通过对雷达剖面影像的筛选和分析, 推测在格罗夫山地区可能存在2个液态冰下湖泊.     

Quantifying subglacial bed roughness in Antarctica: implications for ice-sheet dynamics and history

Glaciated landscapes consist of complex assemblages of landforms resulting from ice flow dynamic regimes and ice-sheet history, superimposed over, and in turn modifying, preglacial topography, lithology and geological structure. Insights into the formation of glaciated landscapes can, in principle, be obtained by analysing modern ice-sheet beds, but terrain analyses beneath modern ice sheets are restricted by the inaccessibility of the bed. It is, however, possible to quantify roughness, the vertical variation of the subglacial interface with horizontal distance, along two-dimensional images of the bed obtained from radio-echo sounding (RES). Here we collate several case studies from Antarctica, where roughness calculations have been used as a glaciological tool to infer basal processes and ice-sheet history over large (>500 km²) areas. We present two examples from West Antarctica, which demonstrate the utility of bed roughness in determining the presence and extent of subglacial sediments, glacial dynamics and former ice-sheet size. We also present two examples from East Antarctica, which illustrate how roughness provides knowledge of ice-sheet dynamics in the interior and pre-Quaternary ice-sheet histories. In modern ice-sheet settings, characterising bed roughness along RES tracks has the twin advantages of being relatively simple to calculate while producing informative subsurface data, and is especially powerful at furthering understanding when coupled with knowledge of ice flow from field, satellite and modelling investigations. The technique also offers significant potential for the comparison of modern and former ice-sheet terrains, contributing to an improved understanding of the formation and evolution of glaciated landscapes.     

Sedimentation in ice-covered Lake Hoare, Antarctica

The sedimentation mechanisms that occur in ice-covered Lake Hoare, Antarctica are examined, to determine how sediment enters the lake, and how the sedimentation pattern affects blue-green algal growth at the lake bottom. The 3 m-thick ice cover contains pebbly sand as much as 2 m below the surface. Sediment with similar texture and mineralogy is found at the lake bottom. This evidence, together with the lack of sediment in the inflowing stream and the markedly different texture of sediment from the other terrains around the lake suggest that most of the sediment at the lake bottom comes in through the ice cover. Sand grains intermittently migrate through porous ice on the surface, water-filled vertical gas-channels penetrating two-thirds of the ice cover, and possibly through cracks in the ice that act as conduits. The algae at the lake bottom are able to survive in part because sediment that comes through the ice cover does not obliterate them.     

Lake Hoare, Antarctica: sedimentation through a thick perennial ice cover

Lake Hoare in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica is covered with a perennial ice cover more than 3 m thick, yet there is a complex record of sedimentation and of growth of microbial mats on the lake bottom. Rough topography on the ice covering the lake surface traps sand that is transported by the wind. In late summer, vertical conduits form by melting and fracturing, making the ice permeable to both liquid water and gases. Cross-sections of the ice cover show that sand is able to penetrate into and apparently through it by descending through these conduits. This is the primary sedimentation mechanism in the lake. Sediment traps retrieved from the lake bottom indicate that rates of deposition can vary by large amounts over lateral scales as small as 1 m. This conclusion is supported by cores taken in a 3 × 3 grid with a spacing of 1.5 m. Despite the close spacing of the cores, the poor stratigraphic correlation that is observed indicates substantial lateral variability in sedimentation rate. Apparently, sand descends into the lake from discrete, highly localized sources in the ice that may in some cases deposit a large amount of sand into the lake in a very short time. In some locations on the lake bottom, distinctive sand mounds have been formed by this process. They are primary sedimentary structures and appear unique to the perennially ice-covered lacustrine environment. In some locations they are tens of centimetres high and gently rounded with stable slopes; in others they reach ～ 1 m in height and have a conical shape with slopes at angle of repose. A simple formation model suggests that these differences can be explained by local variations in water depth and sedimentation rate. Rapid colonization and stabilization of fresh sand surfaces by microbial mats composed of cyanobacteria, eukaryotic algae, and heterotrophic bacteria produces a complex intercalation of organic and sandy layers that are a distinctive form of modern stromatolites.     

Modern sedimentation system of Lake Untersee, East Antarctica

The paper presents data on the geographic and geological conditions of modern sedimentation in Lake Untersee, the largest lake in East Antarctica. Geochemical and sedimentation data indicate that the leading mechanism providing Al-Si sedimentary material to the surface layer of the bottom sediments is the seasonal melting of the Anuchin glacier and the mountain glacier on the southeastern face of the valley hosting the lake. The strongly reduced conditions in the lowermost 25 m of the water column in the smaller of the two depressions at the lake bottom were favorable for the enrichment of the bottom sediments in bacteriogenic organic matter, Mo, Au, and Pd. The H₂S-contaminated water facilitates the significant enrichment of the sediments only in redox-sensitive elements able to migrate in the form of anionic complexes and precipitate (coprecipitate) as sulfides.     

The Helium Isotopic Chemistry of Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley, Antarctica: Timing of Late Holocene Climate Change in Antarctica

To better understand the long-term climate history of Antarctica, we studied Lake Bonney in Taylor Valley, Southern Victoria Land (78°S). Helium isotope ratios and He, Ne, Ar and N₂ concentration data, obtained from hydrocasts in the East (ELB) and West (WLB) Lobes of Lake Bonney, provided important constraints on the lakes Holocene evolution. Based on very low concentrations of Ar and N₂ in the ELB bottom waters, ELB was free of ice until 200 ± 50 years ago. After which, low salinity water flowing over the sill from WLB to ELB, covered ELB and formed a perennial ice cover, inhibiting the exchange of gases with the atmosphere. In contrast to the ELB, the WLB retained an ice cover through the Holocene. The brine in the WLB bottom waters has meteoric N₂ and Ar gas concentrations indicating that it has not been significantly modified by atmospheric exchange or ice formation. The helium concentrations in the deep water of WLB are the highest measured in non-thermal surface water. By fitting a diffusional loss to the ³He/⁴He, helium, and Cl profiles, we calculate a time of 3000 years for the initiation of flow over the sill separating the East and West Lobes. To supply this flux of helium to the lake, a helium-rich sediment beneath the lake must be providing the helium by diffusion. If at any time during the last million years the ice cover left WLB, there would be insufficient helium available to provide the current flux to WLB. The variations in water levels in Lake Bonney can be related to climatic events that have been documented within the Southern Victoria Land region and indicate that the lakes respond significantly to regional and, perhaps, global climate forcing.     

The Geochemistry of Lake Joyce, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Lake Joyce is one of the least studied lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Similar to other lakes in this region, Lake Joyce is a closed-basin, permanently ice-covered, meromictic lake. We present here a detailed investigation of major ions, nutrients, and dissolved trace elements for Lake Joyce. Specifically, we investigate the role of iron and manganese oxides and hydrous oxides in trace metal cycling.Lake Joyce is characterized by fresh, oxic waters overlying an anoxic brine, primarily Na–Cl. Surface waters have a maximum nitrate concentration of 26M with a molar dissolved inorganic nitrogen to phosphorus ratio of 477. The supply of nitrogen is attributed to atmospheric deposition, possibly from polar stratospheric clouds. Dissolved phosphorus is scavenged by hydrous iron oxides. The pH is highest (10.15) just beneath the 7-m thick ice cover and decreases to a minimum of 7.29 in the redox transition zone. Dissolved Al exceeds 8M in surface waters, and appears to be controlled by equilibrium with gibbsite. In contrast, concentrations of other trace elements in surface waters are quite low (e.g., 5.4nM Cu, 0.19nM Co, <20pM La). Dissolved Fe, Mn, Ni and Cd were below our detection limits of 13 nM, 1. 8 nM, 4.7 nM and 15pM (respectively) in surface waters. There was a 6-m vertical separation in the onset of Mn and Fe reduction, with dissolved Mn appearing higher in the water column than Fe. Based on thermodynamic calculations, dissolved Mn appears to be controlled by equilibrium with hausmannite (Mn3O4). Co tracks the Mn profile closely, suggesting Co(III) is bound in the lattice of Mn oxides, whereas the Ce profile is similar, yet the Ce anomaly suggests oxidative scavenging of Ce. Release of Cu, Ni, Cd and trivalent REE appears to be controlled by pH-induced desorption from Fe and Mn oxides, although Cu (and perhaps Ni) may be scavenged by organic matter in surface waters.     

The role of glacitectonic rafting and comminution in the production of subglacial tills: examples from southwest Ireland and Antarctica

Sedimentological and structural geological data from two sites in southwest Ireland and Antarctica provide evidence for the formation of subglacial till by the brecciation and crushing of bedrock rafts. Up-sequence transitions, from undisturbed bedrock, to deformed bedrock, to crushed and brecciated bedrock, to massive matrix-supported till with far-travelled erratics, represent a process-form continuum of till production. Initially, bedrock fragments and rafts up to several metres in length are liberated from the substrate by glacitectonic thrusting and plucking. These rafts are then crushed to produce the matrix of a till. Such products are commonly referred to as comminution tills, although the original definition focused primarily on the second phase of the process (crushing of bedrock rafts and fragments) as well as abrasion of bedrock. Data from Ireland and Antarctica indicate that rafting of bedrock is an essential part of the process of till formation. This process is facilitated by weak sedimentary bedrock, which can be displaced along joints and bedding planes to form rafts that are then incorporated into the 'proto-till' prior to being crushed subglacially. Our field data suggest that bedrock failure and displacement of such rafts can occur to depths of 3 m. The occurrence of erratics in the uppermost part of the till demonstrates that the glacier effectively mixes far-travelled and local materials.     

南极拉斯曼丘陵莫愁湖和团结湖水中有机物剖析(英)

Information on the organic compounds in water of Mochou Lake and Heart Lake, Antarctica is given in this paper. 93 organic compounds were identified from 121 chemical constituents in lake water, including n-alkanes, lipidal isopentadienes, aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatics, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, monocarboxylic acids and phthalic esters in the range of 0. 027～4. 97 μg/L. Organic compounds of global occurrence like BHC, DDT and PCBs were detected in the water,at the concentration of 0. 012～0. 356 μg/L.     

The Cold Carbonate Connection Between Mono Lake, Californiaand the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica

Ikaite is a rare form of carbonate – calciumcarbonate hexahydrate (CaCO3·6H2O) and isthe precursor to thinolites. Metastable 'ikaite'crystals, discovered in unconsolidated marinesediments in the King George Basin in the BransfieldStrait, Antarctica, are related to diageneticremineralization reactions of organic matter. StableC, O, and H-isotopes track the response of ikaitecrystals, during growth, to changing interstitialfluid conditions as a result of bacterial sulphatereduction and methanogenesis. Ikaites form inpreference over calcite or aragonite at the prevailingsurface sediment conditions of -1.6 °C and 200bar in the King George Basin.The calcareous tufa towers of the terrestrial,hypersaline Mono Lake of northern California areCaCO3-precipitates formed by the influx ofsubmerged springs of calcium-rich freshwaters enteringthe alkaline lake (CO2 = 0.5 m, pH =9.8). Under current climatic conditions the mineralcalcite precipitates, but during the colder Tiogaglacial period of Late Wisconsian age (12,000 to 9,000years BP), and possibly present day during the winterseason, the monoclinic calcium carbonate hexahydrate(ikaite) was the dominant phase formed. Thesepaleo-ikaites have since recrystallized to form thecalcitic pseudomorph 'thinolites'. They are foundelsewhere in recent and ancient sediments of polarregions, e.g., as 'glendonites'. The environmentaloccurrence of ikaites and their pseudomorphs deem themas potential paleoclimatic indicators of coldenvironments. The larger crystals are typicallyrestricted to colder, deeper organic-rich sediments orin moderately evaporitic basins. In these cases, theikaite formation and decomposition may be influencedby additives such as phosphate or amino acids.     

Paper plant effluent revisited-southern Lake Champlain, Vermont and New York

We used geologic and geochemical techniques to document the change with time of the distribution and concentration of contaminated bottom sediments in southern Lake Champlain near an International Paper Company plant. Our work, initiated in 1972, was expanded on behalf of Vermont citizens in a class-action suit against the International Paper Company. To update our 1972–1973 results, we collected nine cores in 1988 upstream and downstream from the paper plant effluent diffuser. Water content, volatile solids, organic carbon, and three ratios, Al/Si, Cl/Si, and S/Si, in addition to megascopic and microscopic observations, were evaluated to identify and trace the distribution of effluent and to measure the thickness of sediment affected by or containing components of effluent. Analyses were carried out on samples from the cores as well as from effluent collected directly from the plant's waste treatment facility. In 1973, two years after the plant opened, we cored near the diffuser; sediment contaminated with effluent was 4.5 cm thick. In 1988, in the same area, sediment contaminated with effluent was 17 cm thick. In 15 years, water content increased from 72 to 85 percent, volatile solids from 7 to 20 percent, and organic carbon from 2 to 12 percent. Cl/Si and S/Si were high only near the diffuser and were zero elsewhere. In the area of the diffuser, contaminated sediment appears to be accumulating at a rate of about 1 cm/yr. At a control location 22 km upstream (south) from the plant, the top, poorly consoli-dated layer was only 1 cm or less thick both in 1973 and in 1988. The class-action suit was settled in favor of the plaintiffs for $5 million.     

Ultra-low rare earth element content in accreted ice from sub-glacial Lake Vostok, Antarctica

This paper reports the first rare earth element (REE) concentrations in accreted ice refrozen from sub-glacial Lake Vostok (East Antarctica). REE were determined in various sections of the Vostok ice core in order to geochemically characterize its impurities. Samples were obtained from accreted ice and, for comparison, from the upper glacier ice of atmospheric origin (undisturbed, disturbed and glacial flour ice). REE concentrations ranged between 0.8-56 pg g⁻¹ for Ce and 0.0035-0.24 pg g⁻¹ for Lu in glacier ice, and between <0.1-24 pg g⁻¹ for Ce and <0.0004-0.02 pg g⁻¹ for Lu in accreted ice. Interestingly, the REE concentrations in the upper accreted ice (AC₁; characterized by visible aggregates containing a mixture of very fine terrigenous particles) and in the deeper accreted ice (AC₂; characterized by transparent ice) are lower than those in fresh water and seawater, respectively. We suggest that such ultra-low concentrations are unlikely to be representative of the real REE content in Lake Vostok, but instead may reflect phase exclusion processes occurring at the ice/water interface during refreezing. In particular, the uneven spatial distribution (on the order of a few cm) and the large range of REE concentrations observed in AC₁ are consistent with the occurrence/absence of the aggregates in adjacent ice, and point to the presence of solid-phase concentration/exclusion processes occurring within separate pockets of frazil ice during AC₁ formation. Interestingly, if the LREE enrichment found in AC₁ was not produced by chemical fractionation occurring in Lake Vostok water, this may reflect a contribution of bedrock material, possibly in combination with aeolian dust released into the lake by melting of the glacier ice. Collectively, this valuable information provides new insight into the accreted ice formation processes, the bedrock geology of East Antarctica as well as the water chemistry and circulation of Lake Vostok.     

Rare earth elements in the water column of Lake Vanda, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

We present data on the composition of water from Lake Vanda, Antarctica. Vanda and other lakes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are characterized by closed basins, permanent ice covers, and deep saline waters. The meromictic lakes provide model systems for the study of trace metal cycling owing to their pristine nature and the relative simplicity of their biogeochemical systems. Lake Vanda, in the Wright Valley, is supplied by a single input, the Onyx River, and has no output. Water input to the lake is balanced by sublimation of the nearly permanent ice cap that is broken only near the shoreline during the austral summer. The water column is characterized by an inverse thermal stratification of anoxic warm hypersaline water underlying cold oxic freshwater.Water collected under trace-element clean conditions was analyzed for its dissolved and total rare earth element (REE) concentrations by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Depth profiles are characterized by low dissolved REE concentrations (La, Ce, <15 pM) in surface waters that increase slightly (La, 70 pM; Ce, 20 pM) with increasing depth to ∼55 m, the limit of the fresh oxic waters. Below this depth, a sharp increase in the concentrations of strictly trivalent REE (e.g., La, 5 nM) is observed, and a submaximum in redox sensitive Ce (2.6 nM) is found at 60- to 62-m depth. At a slightly deeper depth, a sharper Ce maximum is observed with concentrations exceeding 11 nM at a 67-m depth, immediately above the anoxic zone. The aquatic concentrations of REE reported here are ∼50-fold higher than previously reported for marine oxic/anoxic boundaries and are, to our knowledge, the highest ever observed at natural oxic/anoxic interfaces. REE maxima occur within stable and warm saline waters. All REE concentrations decrease sharply in the sulfidic bottom waters. The redox-cline in Lake Vanda is dominated by diffusional processes and vertical transport of dissolved species driven by concentration gradients. Furthermore, because the ultraoligotrophic nature of the lake limits the potential for organic phases to act as metal carriers, metal oxide coatings and sulfide phases appear to largely govern the distribution of trace elements. We discuss REE cycling in relation to the roles of redox reactions and competitive scavenging onto Mn- and Fe-oxides coatings on clay sized particles in the upper oxic water column and their release by reductive dissolution near the anoxic/oxic interface.     

Geochemistry of great Salt Lake,Utah II: Pleistocene-Holocene evolution

Sedimentologic and biostratigraphic evidence is used to develop a geochemical model for Great Salt Lake, Utah, extending back some 30,000 yrs. B.P. Hydrologie conditions as defined by the water budget equation are characterized by a lake initially at a low, saline stage, rising by about 17,000 yrs. B.P. to fresh water basin-full conditions (Bonneville level) and then, after about 15,000 yrs. B.P., dropping rapidly to a saline stage again, as exemplified by the present situation.Inflow composition has changed through time in response to the hydrologie history. During fresh-water periods high discharge inflow is dominated by calcium bicarbonate-type river waters; during saline stages, low discharge, NaCl-rich hydrothermal springs are significant solute sources. This evolution in lake composition to NaCl domination is illustrated by the massive mirabilite deposition, free of halite, following the rapid drawdown until about 8,000 years ago, while historic droughts have yielded principally halite.Hydrologic history can be combined with inferred inflow composition to derive concentration curves with time for each major solute in the lake. Calcium concentrations before the drawdown were controlled by calcite solubility, and afterwards by aragonite. Significant amounts of solutes are removed from the lake by diffusion into the sediments. Na⁺, Cl^? and SO₄^2? are also involved in salt precipitation. By including pore fluid data, a surprisingly good fit has been obtained between solute input over the time period considered and the amounts actually found in lake brines, pore fluids, salt beds and sediments. Excess amounts are present for calcium, carbonate and silica, indicating detrital input.     

Holocene lake development and glacial-isostatic uplift at Lake Skallen and Lake Oyako,Lützow-Holm Bay,East Antarctica: Based on biogeochemical facies and molecular signatures

The paleolimnology of two lakes which were isolated as a result of the crustal uplift during the late Holocene along the Soya Coast, Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica were studied. The focus was on temporal variations in the biogeochemical composition of sediment cores recovered from Lake Skallen at Skallen and Lake Oyako at Skarvsnes. Both sets of lake sediments record environmental changes associated with a transition from marine to lacustrine settings, as indicated by analyses of C and N contents, nitrogen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁵N), and major element concentrations. Changes in the dominant primary producers during the marine–lacustrine transition (marine diatom to cyanobacteria) at L. Skallen was clearly revealed by biogenic opal-A, diatom assemblages, and molecular signature from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis. Radiocarbon dating of acid-insoluble organic C suggested that the environmental transition from marine to fresh water occurred at 2940 ± 100 cal yr BP at L. Skallen and 1060 ± 90 cal yr BP at L. Oyako. Based on these data, a mean crustal uplift rate of 3.2 mm yr⁻¹ is inferred for the history of marine–lacustrine transition via brackish conditions. The geological setting causing glacio-isostatic uplift was the primary factor in controlling the transition event in sedimentary and biological facies.     

Nickel, Copper, Zinc and Cadmium Cycling with Manganese in Lake Vanda (Wright Valley, Antarctica)

Lake Vanda is a closed-basin, permanently ice-covered lake located in the Wright Valley of Antarctica. The lakes more important geochemical features include the fact that it is fed by a single glacial melt water stream for only 6–8weeks out of the year; that it has remained stratified for more than a millennium; and that, like other lakes in the region, it is remote from anthropogenic influence. These, together with the fact that it is among the least biologically productive lakes in the world, make it an ideal system for examining the transport, cycling and fate of trace metals in the aquatic environment. Like others before us, we view this lake as a natural geochemical laboratory, a flask in the desert. This paper presents the first set of closely spaced, vertical, profiles for dissolved and particulate Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Cd in the water column. Despite the absence of an outflow, metals in the fresh upper waters of the lake have extremely low concentrations, in the pico-molar to nano-molar range, and are partitioned largely into dissolved rather than particulate phases. Efficient metal scavenging by particles from these oxygen-rich waters is indicated. Significant increases in metal concentrations begin to appear at depth, between 57 and 60m, and these increases coincide with the onset of manganese oxide dissolution in oxic, but lower pH waters. Vertical profiles suggest that the entire suite of trace metals (Ni, Cu, Zn, and Cd) is being released from manganese oxide carrier phases. Thermodynamic analysis indicates that Mn3O4 (i.e., the mineral hausmannite) may be important in metal sequestration and recycling in the deeper waters of Lake Vanda. Manganese-reducing organisms reported by Bratina etal. (1998) are active in the zone of metal release and these could also contribute to the observed cycling.     

The Blackspring Ridge Flute Field, south-central Alberta, Canada: : evidence for subglacial sheetflow erosion

The Blackspring Ridge (BSR), located in south-central Alberta, Canada, is dominated by a prominent flute field. Flutes (elongated streamlined depressions) and ridges (elongate streamlined hills) are up to 15 km long and are composed of two material types: in situ bedrock, and in situ pre-Laurentide glaciation fluvial sand and gravel beds. The preglacial beds are Tertiary or early Quaternary in age. The beds are undisturbed, maintain primary bedding structures, and even maintain clast imbrication. No till overlies the gravel beds, although in places large granite boulder erratics lie on the surface, indicating that ice was present in the region in the past. Because the ridges are composed of preglacial materials, they are remnant erosional landforms rather than constructional landforms. Geomorphic and sedimentary evidence favor subglacial meltwater as the erosional agent, rather than ice. We suggest that the elevation of the BSR relative to basal ice would have resulted in confined subglacial meltwater flow, with associated flow acceleration and increased scouring resulting in flute formation. This meltwater stripped away any till cover, leaving behind only a few boulders. Observations at the BSR flute field preclude the possibility that flutes and remnant ridges are the result of deformation of soft clayey beds.