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Mn, Fe, Cu and Cd distributions and residence times in closed basin Lake Vanda (Wright Valley, Antarctica)

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Abstract

Mn, Fe, Cu, and Cd concentrations are reported for Lake Vanda, a closed-basin, meromictic, Antarctic lake and for its single major inflow, the Onyx River. Trace metal distributions in the upper lake and annual metal fluxes from the Onyx River were used to estimate chemical residence times in the mixed zone above the chemocline. Residence times, based on total metal loads, were 9.4 years for Mn; 1.4 years for iron; 174 years for copper; and 82 years for cadmium. Controls on the steady state concentrations of metals in this system are likely to include: particle settling of Fe and Mn; scavenging of minor elements on metal oxide surfaces; sulfide precipitation from the anoxic brine; and possibly uptake of metals on the surface of benthic algal mats. Model calculations show that metal removal by sinking phytoplankton can account for only a small fraction of the annual loss.

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Author notes

  1. Donald E. Canfield

    Present address: Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, 06511, New Haven, Connecticut

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Miami University, 45056, Oxford, Ohio, USA

    William J. Green & Donald E. Canfield

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, 07102, NJ, USA

    G. Fred Lee & R. Anne Jones

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  2. Donald E. Canfield
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  3. G. Fred Lee
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Green, W.J., Canfield, D.E., Lee, G.F. et al. Mn, Fe, Cu and Cd distributions and residence times in closed basin Lake Vanda (Wright Valley, Antarctica). Hydrobiologia 134, 237–248 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00008492

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