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Geochemical characterization of humic acids and humification processes in lake sediments of West Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

Alina V. Guzeva Open the ORCID record for Alina V. Guzeva [Opens in a new window]
Alina V. Guzeva*
Affiliation:
St Petersburg Federal Research Center of RAS - Institute of Limnology RAS, St Petersburg, Russia and Institute of the North Industrial Ecology Problems, Kola Science Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Apatity, Russia
*
Corresponding author: Alina V. Guzeva; Email: alinaguzeva2108@gmail.com
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Abstract

This study focuses on geochemical research into humic acids and humification processes in lakes of West Antarctica, specifically King George Island and Marie Byrd Land. Humic acids were extracted from recent sediments of Antarctic lakes and analysed using high-precision laboratory methods. The experiments included examining the elemental composition and molecular structure of the humic acids. The results show that the organic matter in sediments of the studied lakes has undergone complete humification processes. However, the molecular structure of humic acids is characterized by a predominance of aliphatic fragments and a significant amount of polysaccharides, which is typical of humic substances in the cold climates of Arctic and Antarctic regions. Thus, the humic substances of Antarctic lakes were found to have a very low degree of maturity and were non-resistant to mineralization. These findings are valuable for understanding the full chain of organic matter transformation processes in Antarctic ecosystems and the global carbon cycle on Earth.

Keywords

Antarcticahumic substancesKing George Islandlake ecosystemsMarie Byrd Landorganic matter
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 36 , Issue 6 , December 2024 , pp. 478 - 486
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antarctic Science Ltd

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