Bonney Lake
| Bonney Lake | ||
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| The Taylor Glacier on the lake | ||
| Geographical location | Taylor Valley , Victoria Land , East Antarctica | |
| Tributaries | Doran Stream / Priscu Stream , others | |
| Drain | none | |
| Location close to the shore | Lake Bonney hat | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 77 ° 43 ′ 0 ″ S , 162 ° 22 ′ 0 ″ E | |
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| Altitude above sea level | 57 m | |
| surface | 4.3 km² | |
| length | 7 km | |
| width | 900 m | |
| volume | 64,800,000 m³ | |
| Maximum depth | 40 m | |
| Middle deep | 15 m | |
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particularities |
Salt lake; Endorheic |
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The Bonneysee is a salt lake with a permanent ice cap at the western end of Taylor Valley in Victoria Land , Antarctica .
It is 7 km long, up to 900 meters wide and 40 m deep and is constantly covered with a layer of ice several meters thick. A narrow, only 50 meters wide canal ( Lake Bonney at Narrows ), separates the lake into an eastern (3.32 km²) and a western part (0.99 km²). In the north ( Asgard Range ) and south ( Kukri Hills ) of the lake there are peaks over 1,500 m high, and the Taylor Glacier flows into the lake from the west.
It was discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901-1904), and named by Scott's Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913) after Thomas George Bonney , who was Professor of Geology at University College London from 1877 to 1901 .
research
Lake Bonney is one of the most important lakes for the studies of the National Science Foundation , the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research Project (MCM LTER).
In 2007 a NASA- funded project was started to explore the extent and ecology of the water with the help of an autonomous underwater robot called Endurance (Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic ANtarctiC Explorer). The robot was developed by Stone Aerospace, which also built the Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX) diving robot. The endurance project is led by Peter Doran, professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago . Scientists have discovered an ancient ecosystem under the Taylor Glacier that spills into Lake Bonney via the Blood Falls . This ecosystem survives through the conversion of sulfur and iron compounds.
The work can be seen as a stage in the development of an autonomous underwater robot to explore the sea on Jupiter's moon Europa .
Tributaries
Lake Bonney is fed by a number of meltwater streams:
- Bartlette Creek
- Bohner Stream
- Doran Stream (feeds the Priscu Stream)
- Lawson Creek
- Lizotte Creek
- Lyon Creek
- Mason Creek
- Priscu Stream (the longest at 3.8 km)
- Red River
- Santa Fe Stream
- Sharp Creek
- Vincent Creek
See also
Web links
- Data about the lake
- Satellite image with a detailed description (English)
- Bonney Lake and the lower Taylor Glacier (view towards Beacon Heights) [1]
- Space Daily , April 22, 2007
