Hydrochemical and isotopic baselines for understanding hydrological processes across Macquarie Island

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dc.contributor.authorMeredith, KTen_AU
dc.contributor.authorSaunders, KMen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMcDonough, LKen_AU
dc.contributor.authorMcGeoch, Men_AU
dc.date.accessioned2024-12-05T21:55:03Zen_AU
dc.date.available2024-12-05T21:55:03Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2022-12-08en_AU
dc.date.statistics2024-06-20en_AU
dc.description.abstractIsotopic and hydrochemical data from lakes provide direct information on catchment response to changing rainfall, evaporation, nutrient cycling, and the health of ecosystems. These techniques have not been widely applied to lakes in the Southern Hemisphere high latitudes, including Southern Ocean Islands (SOIs) experiencing rapid, significant shifts in climate. Historical work has highlighted the localised nature of geochemical drivers in controlling the hydrochemical evolution of lakes, such as geology, sea spray contribution, vegetation, geographical location, and ice cover extent. The role of groundwater in lake hydrology and hydrochemistry has not been identified until now, and its omission will have major implications for interpreting soil–water–air processes affecting lakes. Here we present the first comprehensive, island-wide hydrochemical and isotopic survey of lakes on a SOI. Forty lakes were examined across Macquarie Island, using comparable methods to identify key environmental processes and their geochemical drivers. Methods include stable carbon (δ13CDOC: dissolved organic carbon and δ13CDIC: dissolved inorganic carbon), oxygen (δ18O), hydrogen (δ2H) and strontium isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in water. These provide essential baseline data for hydrological, biological, and geochemical lake processes. Lakes on the western side of the island are influenced by sea spray aerosols. In general, it was found that lakes at higher elevations are dilute and those located in lower elevation catchments have experienced more water–rock interactions. The hydrochemical and isotopic tracers suggest that lakes in lower elevations contain more terrestrial sourced ions that may be contributed from groundwater. Increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns predicted for the region will lead to shifts in nutrient cycles, and impact the island’s unique ecosystems. Future research will focus on long-term monitoring to understand seasonal, annual, and long-term variability to test fundamental hypotheses concerning ecosystem function and the consequences of environmental change on SOIs. © 2024 The Authors - Open Access CC-BY 4.0.en_AU
dc.description.sponsorshipThe authors would like to thank Aimee Bliss and Kristen Gardner for undertaking the lake sampling and Chris Dimovski for preparing field equipment. We would also like to thank the ANSTO laboratories for sample analysis in particular Jennifer Van Holst and Henri Wong. Thank you to Pip Bricher for providing the original Geographical Information System layers. This work was funded by Australian Antarctic Science Grant 4156 (Saunders). The Australian Antarctic Division and Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Tasmania, provided access to Macquarie Island and logistical support. MM acknowledges support from the ARC SRIEAS Grant SR200100005 Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future.en_AU
dc.format.mediumElectronicen_AU
dc.identifier.articlenumber21266en_AU
dc.identifier.citationMeredith, K. T., Saunders, K. M., McDonough, L. K., & McGeoch, M. (2022). Hydrochemical and isotopic baselines for understanding hydrological processes across Macquarie Island. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 21266. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-25115-3en_AU
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322en_AU
dc.identifier.issue1en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleScientific Reportsen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-25115-3en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/15785en_AU
dc.identifier.volume12en_AU
dc.languageEnglishen_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_AU
dc.subjectRainen_AU
dc.subjectEvaporationen_AU
dc.subjectNutrientsen_AU
dc.subjectEcosystemsen_AU
dc.subjectClimatesen_AU
dc.subjectIsotopic exchangeen_AU
dc.subjectGeochemical surveysen_AU
dc.subjectCarbonen_AU
dc.subjectHydrogenen_AU
dc.subjectOxygenen_AU
dc.subjectStrontium isotopesen_AU
dc.titleHydrochemical and isotopic baselines for understanding hydrological processes across Macquarie Islanden_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
dcterms.dateAccepted2022-11-24en_AU
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