Ablation Lake
Location of lake in Antarctica
Location of lake in Antarctica
Ablation Lake
LocationAblation Valley, Alexander Island, Antarctica
Coordinates70°49′S 68°26′W / 70.817°S 68.433°W / -70.817; -68.433
TypeProglacial lake
Primary outflowschannel to George VI Sound

Ablation Lake is a proglacial tidal lake in Ablation Valley, Alexander Island, Antarctica, with stratified saline and fresh water and depths exceeding 117 m (384 ft). The feature is dammed in the upper portion by ice that pushes into the lake from the adjacent George VI Ice Shelf. It is named after Ablation Valley following British Antarctic Survey (BAS) limnological research from 1973. The site lies within Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.147.[1]

The lake has a sub-ice channel connecting it to George VI Sound, and is approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) below the surface of the ice.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ablation Valley and Ganymede Heights, Alexander Island" (PDF). Management Plan for Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 147: Measure 1. Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2002. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  2. ^ R.B. Heywood (26 May 1977). "A Limnological survey of the Ablation Point area, Alexander Island, Antarctica". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 279 (963): 39–54. doi:10.1098/rstb.1977.0070. JSTOR 2417750. Two of the lakes are unusual in that they are in contact with seawater from George VI Sound which is covered by an ice shelf, 100-500 m thick, and which separates Alexander Island from the Antarctic mainland.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from "Ablation Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.


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