Trapping of aeolian sediments and build‐up of the ice cover of a dry‐based Antarctic lake

Among the perennially frozen lakes of the Dry Valleys of South Victoria Land (Antarctica), some are dry‐based, i.e. frozen to the bottom. One of these is studied here by a multiparametric investigation (isotopic composition in δD and δ¹⁸O, ions, gas and ice texture analyses). A sediment layer about 10 cm thick appearing at a depth of 3·5 m is also studied by grain size, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analyses. The information retrieved indicates that this ice‐block lake results from a build‐up in two steps and explains how aeolian sediments were included as a layer into the ice. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.