Abstract
Sedimentary organic matter from the Antarctic lakes is the source of various proxies used to study productivity changes. A total of three sediment cores (GL-1, V-1, and L-6) collected from the lakes of Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica, were analysed for total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), biogenic silica (BSi) and their ratios were computed to understand the nutrient cycling and productivity in Antarctic lakes. In core GL-1 and V-1, high TOC and high clay in the upper section of the core indicated high primary productivity due to the lakes’ exposure to the ice meltwater influx. The C/N ratio of substances GL-1, V-1, and L-6 varied from 2.72 to 8.52, indicating the source of organic matter as autochthonous exclusively derived from algae (C/N < 10). N/P ratio is <7.81 in all three lakes, meaning a potential limitation of N in all the lakes. In cores GL-1, V-1, N/Si ratio is lower than 1, indicating N limitation, while in core L-6, N/Si ratio is higher than 1, i.e. 1.53, indicating Si limitation. Si/P ratio is found to be greater than 3 in all the cores, indicating P limitation. Deviation from the Redfield ratio suggested that the lakes are oligotrophic.
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Acknowledgements
The authors place on record to thank the Director, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, for providing the opportunity to one of the authors (SC) to participate in the Indian Antarctic programme and Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) for providing the logistic support required for the collection of samples. The authors, thank Dr. Manish Tiwari, Scientist and Mr. Siddesh Nagoji, ESSO-NCAOR, Goa, are thanked for kindly extending the instrumental facility of the elemental analyser. Dr. Anoop K. Tiwari, Scientist -E, ESSO-NCAOR, Goa, is thanked for providing the samples. One of the authors (SC) thanks to the University Grant Commission (UGC) for awarding a national fellowship (F1-17.1/2015-16/MANF-2015-17-UTT-51739). Another author (GNN) thanks to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for awarding the Emeritus Scientist position.
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Choudhary, S., Nayak, G.N., Khare, . (2022). Nutrient Cycling and Productivity in Antarctic Lakes. In: Khare, N. (eds) Assessing the Antarctic Environment from a Climate Change Perspective. Earth and Environmental Sciences Library. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87078-2_9
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