Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T14:47:54.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Biogeophysical properties of an expansive Antarctic supraglacial stream

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 October 2016

Michael D. SanClements Open the ORCID record for Michael D. SanClements [Opens in a new window] ,
Heidi J. Smith ,
Christine M. Foreman ,
Marco Tedesco ,
Yu-Ping Chin ,
Christopher Jaros  and
Diane M. McKnight
Michael D. SanClements*
Affiliation:
INSTAAR, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Heidi J. Smith
Affiliation:
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Christine M. Foreman
Affiliation:
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
Marco Tedesco
Affiliation:
City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
Yu-Ping Chin
Affiliation:
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Christopher Jaros
Affiliation:
INSTAAR, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
Diane M. McKnight
Affiliation:
INSTAAR, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Supraglacial streams are important hydrologic features in glaciated environments as they are conduits for the transport of aeolian debris, meltwater, solutes and microbial communities. We characterized the basic geomorphology, hydrology and biogeochemistry of the Cotton Glacier supraglacial stream located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The distinctive geomorphology of the stream is driven by accumulated aeolian sediment from the Transantarctic Mountains, while solar radiation and summer temperatures govern melt in the system. The hydrologic functioning of the Cotton Glacier stream is largely controlled by the formation of ice dams that lead to vastly different annual flow regimes and extreme flushing events. Stream water is chemically dilute and lacks a detectable humic signature. However, the fluorescent signature of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the stream does demonstrate an extremely transitory red-shifted signal found only in near-stream sediment leachates and during the initial flushing of the system at the onset of flow. This suggests that episodic physical flushing drives pulses of DOM with variable quality in this stream. This is the first description of a large Antarctic supraglacial stream and our results provide evidence that the hydrology and geomorphology of supraglacial streams drive resident microbial community composition and biogeochemical cycling.

Keywords

AntarcticaDOMglacialhydrologyMcMurdo Dry Valleys
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , February 2017 , pp. 33 - 44
Check for updates
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alger, A.S., McKnight, D.M., Spaulding, S.A., Tate, C.M., Shupe, G.H., Welch, K.A., Edwards, R., Andrews, E.D. & House, H.R. 1997. Ecological processes in a cold desert ecosystem: the abundance and species distribution of algal mats in glacial meltwater streams in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Occasional Paper no. 51. Boulder, CO: Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, 118 pp.Google Scholar
Barker, J.D., Sharp, M.J., Fitzsimons, S.J. & Turner, R.J. 2006. Abundance and dynamics of dissolved organic carbon in glacier systems. Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research, 38, 163–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrett, J.E., Virginia, R.A., Lyons, W.B., McKnight, D.M., Priscu, J.C., Doran, P.T., Fountain, A.G., Wall, D.H. & Moorhead, D.L. 2007. Biogeochemical stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley ecosystems. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 112, 10.1029/2005JG000141.Google Scholar
Cory, R.M. & McKnight, D.M. 2005. Fluorescence spectroscopy reveals ubiquitous presence of oxidized and reduced quinones in dissolved organic matter. Environmental Science & Technology, 39, 8142–8149.Google Scholar
Cory, R.M., Miller, M.P., McKnight, D.M., Guerard, J.J. & Miller, P.L. 2010. Effect of instrument-specific response on the analysis of fulvic acid fluorescence spectra. Limnology and Oceanography - Methods, 8, 67–78.Google Scholar
Cozzetto, R. 2009. Controls on stream and hyporheic temperatures, Taylor Valley, Antarctica and large-scale climate influences on interannual flow variation in the Onyx River, Antarctica. PhD thesis, University of Colorado Boulder, 127 pp. [Unpublished].Google Scholar
Doran, P.T., McKay, C.P., Clow, G.D., Dana, G.L., Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T. & Lyons, W.B. 2002. Valley floor climate observations from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, 1986–2000. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 107, 10.1029/2001JD002045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doran, P.T., McKay, C.P., Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T., McKnight, D.M., Jaros, C. & Barrett, J.E. 2008. Hydrologic response to extreme warm and cold summers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 20, 10.1017/S0954102008001272.Google Scholar
Ewing, K.J. 1970. Supraglacial streams on the Kaskawulsh Glacier, Yukon Territory. Arctic Institute of North America Research Paper, No. 57, 121–167.Google Scholar
Foreman, C.M., Sattler, B., Mikucki, J.A., Porazinska, D.L. & Priscu, J.C. 2007. Metabolic activity and diversity of cryoconites in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 112, 10.1029/2006JG000358.Google Scholar
Foreman, C.M., Cory, R.M., Morris, C.E., SanClements, M.D., Smith, H.J., Lisle, J.T., Miller, P.L., Chin, Y.P. & McKnight, D.M. 2013. Microbial growth under humic-free conditions in a supraglacial stream system on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica. Environmental Research Letters, 8, 10.1088/1748-9326/8/3/035022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fortner, S.K., Tranter, M., Fountain, A., Lyons, W.B. & Welch, K.A. 2005. The geochemistry of supraglacial streams of Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley (Antarctica), and their evolution into proglacial waters. Aquatic Geochemistry, 11, 391–412.Google Scholar
Green, W.J., Angle, M.P. & Chave, K.E. 1988. The geochemistry of Antarctic streams and their role in the evolution of four lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 52, 1265–1274.Google Scholar
Green, W.J., Stage, B.R., Preston, A., Wagers, S., Shacat, J. & Newell, S. 2005. Geochemical processes in the Onyx River, Wright Valley, Antarctica: major ions, nutrients, trace metals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 69, 839–850.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hodson, A., Anesio, A.M., Tranter, M., Fountain, A., Osborn, M., Priscu, J., Laybourn-Parry, J. & Sattler, B. 2008. Glacial ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, 78, 41–67.Google Scholar
Hoffman, M., Fountain, A.G. & Liston, G. 2014. Near-surface internal melting – a substantial mass loss on Antarctic Dry Valley glaciers. Journal of Glaciology, 60, 10.3189/2014JoG13J095.Google Scholar
Hood, E., Fellman, J., Spencer, R.G.M., Hernes, P.J., Edwards, R., D’Amore, D. & Scott, D. 2009. Glaciers as a source of ancient and labile organic matter to the marine environment. Nature, 462, 10.1038/nature08580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
House, H.R., McKnight, D.M. & von Guerard, P. 1995. The influence of stream channel characteristics on streamflow and annual water budgets for lakes in Taylor Valley. Antarctic Journal of the United States, 30(5), 284–287.Google Scholar
Jeffrey, S.W. & Humphrey, G.F. 1975. New spectrophotometric equations for determining chlorophyll a, b, c 1 and c 2 in higher plants, algae and natural phytoplankton. Biochemie und Physiologie der Pflanzen, 167, 191–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirchman, D.L., Meon, B., Ducklow, H.W., Carlson, C.A., Hansell, D.A. & Steward, G.F. 2001. Glucose fluxes and concentrations of dissolved combined neutral sugars (polysaccharides) in the Ross Sea and Polar Front Zone, Antarctica. Deep-Sea Research II - Topical Studies in Oceanography, 48, 10.1016/S0967-0645(01)00085-6.Google Scholar
Knighton, A.D. 1981. Channel form and flow characteristics of supraglacial streams, Austre-Okstindbreen, Norway. Arctic and Alpine Research, 13, 295–306.Google Scholar
Lancaster, N. 2002. Flux of eolian sediment in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: a preliminary assessment. Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research, 34, 10.2307/1552490.Google Scholar
MacDonnel, S.A. & Sean, J.F. 2012. Observations of cryoconite hole system processes on an Antarctic glacier. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, 85, 10.4067/S0716-078X2012000400003.Google Scholar
McKnight, D.M., Boyer, E.W., Westerhoff, P.K., Doran, P.T., Kulbe, T. & Andersen, D.T. 2001. Spectrofluorometric characterization of dissolved organic matter for indication of precursor organic material and aromaticity. Limnology and Oceanography, 46, 38–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKnight, D.M., Niyogi, D.K., Alger, A.S., Bomblies, A., Conovitz, P.A. & Tate, C.M. 1999. Dry Valley streams in Antarctica: ecosystems waiting for water. BioScience, 49, 985–995.Google Scholar
Miller, M.P. & McKnight, D.M. 2010. Comparison of seasonal changes in fluorescent dissolved organic matter among aquatic lake and stream sites in the Green Lakes Valley. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences, 115, 10.1029/2009JG000985.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, M.P., Simone, B.E., McKnight, D.M, Cory, R.M., Williams, M.W. & Boyer, E.W. 2010. New light on a dark subject: comment. Aquatic Sciences, 72, 269–275.Google Scholar
Nylen, T.H., Fountain, A.G. & Doran, P.T. 2004. Climatology of katabatic winds in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 109, 10.1029/2003JD003937.Google Scholar
Priscu, J.C. & Wolf, C.F. 2000. Limnological methods for the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program. Available at: www.mcmlter.org/data/lakes/MCM LimnoMethods.pdf.Google Scholar
Röthlisberger, H. & Lang, H. 1987. Glacial hydrology. In Gurnell, A.M. & Clark, M.J., eds. Glacio-fluvial sediment transfer: an alpine perspective. Chichester: John Wiley, 207–284.Google Scholar
Scott, D., Hood, E. & Nassry, M. 2011. In-stream uptake and retention of C, N and P in a supraglacial stream. Annals of Glaciology, 51, 80–86.Google Scholar
Smith, H.J., Schmit, A., Foster, R., Littman, S., Kuypers, M.M.M. & Foreman, C.M. 2016. Biofilms on glacial surfaces: hotspots for biological activity. npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, 2, 10.1038/npjbiofilms.2016.8.Google Scholar
Welch, K.A., Lyons, W.B., Whisner, C., Gardner, C.B., Gooseff, M.N., McKnight, D.M. & Priscu, J.C. 2010. Spatial variations in the geochemistry of glacial meltwater streams in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 22, 10.1017/S0954102010000702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, C.S. & Priestley, R.E. 1922. Glaciology British (Terra Nova) Antarctic Expedition, 1910–1913. London: Harrison & Sons, 487 pp.Google Scholar