Lake Bonney (Antarctica)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
For other places called Bonny Lake or Bonney Lake, see Lake Bonney disambiguation page.
Lake Bonney
File:Taylor Glacier (2474033).jpg
Taylor Glacier at the lake
Location Taylor Valley, Victoria Land, Antarctica
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Type saline, Endorheic
Primary inflows Doran Stream/Priscu Stream, others
Primary outflows none
Basin countries (Antarctica)
Max. length 7 km (4.3 mi)
Max. width 0.9 km (0.56 mi)
Surface area 4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi)
Average depth 15 m (49 ft)
Max. depth 40 m (130 ft)
Water volume 64,800,000 m3 (2.29×109 cu ft)
Surface elevation 57 m (187 ft)
Frozen 2.8 to 4.5 m (9.2 to 14.8 ft)
Settlements Lake Bonney Hut
File:Taylorvalley ast 2000334.jpg
Satellite Image of area

Lake Bonney (Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. ) is a saline lake with permanent ice cover at the western end of Taylor Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Victoria Land, Antarctica.

It is 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and up to 900 metres (3,000 ft) wide. A narrow channel only 50 metres (160 ft) wide (Lake Bonney at Narrows) separates the lake into East Lake Bonney (3.32 square kilometres [1.28 sq mi]) and West Lake Bonney (0.99 square kilometres [0.38 sq mi]).

To the north and south of the lake lie peaks that are over 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) above sea level, and the Taylor Glacier is positioned to the west of the lake. It is 130 feet (40 m) deep and is perpetually trapped under 12 to 15 feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) of ice.

It was first visited by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1901-1904. It was named by the Scott expedition of 1910-1913, for Thomas George Bonney, professor of geology at University College London, England from 1877 to 1901.

Lake Bonney is one of the main lakes studied by the National Science Foundations, McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research site.

Starting in 2007 NASA is funding an autonomous submersible robot called ENDURANCE to explore the water volume of the lake to study its shape and ecology. The robot is built by Stone Aerospace who also developed the DEPTHX submersible. The Endurance Project is led by Peter Doran with Bill Stone and John Priscu among the co-investigators. Scientists have discovered an ancient ecosystem beneath the Taylor Glacier, next to Lake Bonney. This ecosystem survives by transforming sulfur and iron compounds for growth.[1]

The work is seen as a stage in developing an autonomous submersible robot that could explore the ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa.

Tributaries

Lake Bonney is fed by a number of meltwater streams:[2]

See also

  • Blood Falls, an outflow of the tip of the Taylor Glacier containing an iron oxide tainted plume of melting salty water flowing onto the ice-covered surface of Lake Bonney.

References

External links

External image
image icon Taylor Valley and saline Lake Bonney(One of the McMurdo Dry Valleys -a true polar desert with small 'alpine' glaciers. (Photo: © M.J. Hambrey)