DETERMINATION OF MAJOR-ELEMENT CHEMISTRY IN TERRESTRIAL WATERS FROM ANTARCTICA BY ION CHROMATOGRAPHY

As part of the new Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a systematic aqueous geochemical s ampling program has been undertaken. A series of terrestrial water sam ples have been collected and analyzed for major ion chemistry by ion c hromatography. The concentrations of ions cover a wide range of total dissolved solids (TDS) from relatively pristine glacier ice to hypersa line lake waters. Some of the challenges which are encountered while t rying to collect and analyze samples covering a wide range of concentr ations in such a hostile environment are discussed.