Table 3 The concentration of major ions and nutrients after 41-day incubations of SLW sediments with deionized water under oxygen-limited conditions of high-energy crushed (HE) and low-energy crushed (LE) SLW samples.

From: Subglacial erosion has the potential to sustain microbial processes in Subglacial Lake Whillans, Antarctica

 

SLW top (0–4 cm)

SLW middle (14–16 & 28–30 cm)

SLW bottom (36–38 cm)

 

HE

LE

HE

LE

HE

LE

Cl− (meq L−1)

1.2

–

1.4

0.09

1.2

1.2

SO42− (meq L−1)

0.58

–

2.9

2.6

4.6

5.4

Na+ (meq L−1)

2.9

–

8.0

6.1

4.8

5.1

K+ (meq L−1)

1.1

–

1.4

0.40

1.2

0.42

Mg2+ (meq L−1)

0.32

–

0.31

−0.13

1.1

−0.07

Ca2+ (meq L−1)

−0.13

–

−0.10

−0.14

0.00

0.02

F− (meq L−1)

0.16

–

0.21

0.21

0.17

0.19

DSi (µmol L−1)

3.8

–

4.7

2.9

3.8

2.5

Fe 2+ (µmol L−1)

0.73

–

0.89

0.18

1.0

0.13

Fetotal (µmol L−1)

22

–

17

16

23

16

NH4+ (µmol L−1)

116

–

108

3.78

120

0.48

PO43− (µmol L−1)

−1.01

–

0.41

1.86

2.01

−0.35

CH3COO− (µmol L−1)

337

–

280

91

279

166

HCO3− (meq L−1)

3.66

–

4.15

2.07

3.03

0.67

pH (at calcite saturation)

8.88

–

8.71

9.10

8.96

9.56

  1. All concentrations are conservative, having been corrected for the possible contribution of porewaters in the original SLW samples3,4,11,65, except for NH4+ which has not been corrected due to the likely volatilisation of NH4+ during sample preparation. DSi refers to dissolved silicon as silicic acid. Fetotal refers to the total Fe2+ and Fe3+ in solution. HCO3− was estimated using charge balance of ions in solution prior to correction. pH at calcite saturation was estimated using PHREEQ-C72.
Back to article page