DISSOLVED INORGANIC NITROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN MCMURDO DRY VALLEY LAKES


Acceptance and utilization of LTER data requires that:


DISSOLVED INORGANIC NITROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN MCMURDO DRY VALLEY LAKES
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PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: John Priscu
Address:Department of Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman MT, 59717
Phone:(406)994-3250
E-Mail:ubijp@gemini.oscs.montana.edu or JPriscu@LTERnet.edu

KEYWORDS: lake, limnology, dissolved inorganic nitrogen, DIN, Antarctica

ABSTRACT: The McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project monitors patterns of inorganic material transport in perennial ice-capped lakes. This data set addresses this core area of research and quantifies dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations at specific depths in McMurdo Dry Valley lakes.

VARIABLES: limno run, location name, location code, date, depth (m), DIN (µM), DIN comments, file name

RESEARCH LOCATION: Samples were collected from the East Lake Bonney, West Lake Bonney, Lake Hoare, Lake Fryxell, Lake Joyce and Lake Miers limnological sampling stations, located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Descriptions of these lakes can be found in the McMurdo Dry Valley Lake Descriptions file.

METHODS: Lake water samples were collected at specific depths with a five-liter Niskin bottle during normal LTER limnological sampling. Sub-samples were decanted into three-1 L Nalgene bottles (2-light and 1-amber), two-500 mL amber Nalgene bottles, three-150 mL borosilicate glass bottles, two-20 mL scintillation vials, and one-30 mL serum vial. One-100 mL sub-sample was taken from the one-liter amber Nalgene bottle. The sample was filtered through a combusted (475°C for 4 hours) Whatman 25 mm GF/F filter using a bell jar apparatus. The filtrate was collected in a 125 mL acid washed Nalgene bottle and stored at -20°C until analysis by ASA Analytical Services. The filter was used for chlorophyll-a analysis. The ASA analytical chemist performed the nutrient assays with a Lachat Quickchem AE Autoanalyzer using standard methods.

TIMING: Samples were collected from the following sites and dates:


 
Season 		East Bonney 	West Bonney 	Hoare 		Fryxell		Joyce		Miers		Trough
1996-1997	 3-Nov-1996	 1-Nov-1996	 8-Nov-1996	26-Oct-1996	5-Dec-1996	10-Dec-1996
 		24-Nov-1996	26-Nov-1996	 2-Dec-1996	19-Nov-1996
 		15-Jan-1997	17-Jan-1997	12-Jan-1997	 9-Jan-1997	

1997-1998	 8-Nov-1997	11-Nov-1997	15-Nov-1997	18-Nov-1997			
		 1-Dec-1997				
 		 2-Dec-1997	 3-Dec-1997	12-Dec-1997	16-Dec-1997	9-Dec-1997	 5-Dec-1997	
 		20-Dec-1997	22-Dec-1997	26-Dec-1997	29-Dec-1997

1998-1999	 9-Nov-1998	11-Nov-1998	 3-Nov-1998	28-Oct-1998
		 6-Dec-1998	 9-Dec-1998 	 1-Dec-1998	28-Nov-1998
		30-Dec-1998	 1-Jan-1999	26-Dec-1998	20-Dec-1998					23-Dec-1998

1999-2000	 6-Nov-1999	11-Nov-1999	17-Nov-1999	30-Oct-1999
		 3-Dec-1999	 5-Dec-1999	12-Dec-1999	27-Nov-1999
		28-Dec-1999	30-Dec-1999	 4-Jan-2000	23-Dec-1999


CITATIONS:

COMMENTS:

STATUS: Public Access (Type 1).

VARIABLE DESCRIPTION:

VARIABLE

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

UNITS

MISSING VALUE INDICATOR

MINIMUM

MAXIMUM

PRECISION

Limno Run

Text

Code for lake's sampling location and date

none

Required entry

n/a

n/a

n/a

Location Name

Text

Name of lake where measurement was made

none

Required entry

n/a

n/a

n/a

Location Code

Text

Code for site where measurement was made

none

Required entry

n/a

n/a

n/a

Date

Date

Date on which sample was gathered

mm/dd/yy

Required entry

01/01/93

12/31/99

dd

Depth (m)

Number

Distance below ice from which sample was drawn

meters

Required entry

1

45

1

DIN (µM)

Number

Dissolved inorganic carbon concentration found at lake depth

µM

Null

0

1500

0.01

DIN Comments

Text

Helpful hints about the DIN sample

none

Null

n/a

n/a

n/a

File Name

Text

Name of file in which data was submitted

none

Null

n/a

n/a

n/a

LOG: Data from this table was submitted to INSTAAR by John Priscu's team at Montana State University. The raw data file listed under 'file name' is the name of the original file submitted. The 1996/97 and 1997/98 datasets are ascii text files.

Upon arrival at INSTAAR, the data manager fine-tuned the location codes and limno runs to match those provided in the "locations, dates, codes for lake chemistry, biology samples" file. The file was imported into Microsoft Access on INSTAAR's Unix system, and can currently be found there. The file was then exported in ascii, comma delimited text and MS-DOS text (table layout) to present on the MCM LTER web site. Both of these files are linked to this web page above.

Information for the metadata was obtained from the Metanut9697.rtf file. The file was called up using Microsoft Word version 6.0. Text from this file was used to create this page in html format.

NOTE: Data contained in these files has been subjected to quality control standards imposed by the investigator. The user of this data should be aware that, while efforts have been taken to ensure that these data are of the highest quality, there is no guarantee of perfection for the data contained herein and the possibility of errors exists. If you encounter questionable data, please contact the MCM LTER data manager (; (303)492-4639) so that the data can be corrected or qualified. Thus, these data may be modified and future data will be appended.