Abstract
The Larsemann Hills are a series of rocky peninsulas and islands in Prydz Bay at 69° 24′ S and 76° 20′ E. There is about 2000 km2 of ice free land with well over 150 freshwater lakes spread evenly over the granite and gneiss hills. The nearshore islands were ice free by 9500 BP, while the present coastline was exposed by 4500 BP. A relatively steady rate of ice retreat is indicated, around 0.3 ma−1. The two freshwater lakes studied so far have evolved from oligotrophic, proglacial lagoons to fresh or brackish lakes affected by periodic influxes of salt water from sea spray and surges produced by glacial calving. The diatom assemblages increase in species diversity following marine incursion or influence. The major changes are therefore due to the postglacial recovery of sea level, rather than any intrinsic chemical evolution of the lake waters.
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Gillieson, D.S. An environmental history of two freshwater lakes in the Larsemann Hills, Antarctica. Hydrobiologia 214, 327–331 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00050967
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00050967