Movement of salts in Antarctic soils: Experiments using lithium chloride

In order to investigate the fate of contaminants accidentally spilt on Anta rctic soils, known amounts of lithium chloride were added to soil plots bes ide Lake Vanda, in the Wright Valley, and dose to Scott Base, on Ross Islan d. The soils were sampled over a three-year period to trace the movement of lithium. On dry sites most of the added lithium remained in the soil where it had been applied, although trace amounts had moved up to 3 m laterally. On wet sites, where moisture was available from melting snow, much greater amounts of lithium had moved laterally and could be detected up to 5 m awa y. Thus in dry sites, typical of most of the ice-free areas of Antarctica, accidental contaminants will only move slowly over a short distance from th e spill site, whereas on wet sites, the contaminants will eventually move m ore rapidly and be leached out to the lowest point in the drainage system. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.