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Perennial N2 supersaturation in an Antarctic lakeThe results of a study are reported which, for the first time, documents the supersaturation of N2 in a lake. Dissolved N2 levels of 145 percent and 163 percent were determined for Antarctica's Lake Hoare from samples taken just below the ice cover and at a depth of 12 m, respectively. The relative importance of biological and abiological sources is reflected in the ratio of N2 concentration to O2 concentration. In Lake Hoare this ratio was 1.20 at the ice/water interface and 1.05 at 12 m, considerably different from the ratio in equilibrium with air (about 1.8). Based on these results, it is determined that about half of the net O2 production in the lake is the result of biological processes. The significance of these results for the putative ice-covered paleolakes in the canyon regions of Mars is discussed.
Document ID
19870043218
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Wharton, Robert A., Jr.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Mckay, Christopher P.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Mancinelli, Rocco L.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Simmons, George M., Jr.
(Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, United States)
Date Acquired
August 13, 2013
Publication Date
January 22, 1987
Publication Information
Publication: Nature
Volume: 325
ISSN: 0028-0836
Subject Category
Space Biology
Accession Number
87A30492
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF DPP-84-16340
CONTRACT_GRANT: NCA2-2
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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