We report the distribution of a series of metals in natural samples co
llected from Antarctic lakes (Carezza lake no. 3, Edmonson Point lake
no. 13C, Inexpressible Island lake no. 9) during the Italian Expeditio
ns in the austral summers 1990/91 and 1991/92. The considered elements
are :water, sediments, soil sampled from the surroundings of the lake
and algae, for the samplings of 1990/91, and water for the samplings
of 1991/92. The determination of the total concentration of the follow
ing metals was performed: Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na,
Ni, Pb, Si, Sr, Zn. The determination of some metals, namely Cd, Cu, F
e, Mn, Ni, was also performed on sea water samples collected in 1990/9
1 on one vertical profile for one off-shore Antarctic Ocean site, and
on a series of sampling stations of Ross Sea Bay.