FIGURE 4. Water circulation patterns within Lake Vostok under fresh and saline conditions.
From the following article:
Physical, chemical and biological processes in Lake Vostok and other Antarctic subglacial lakes
Martin J. Siegert, J. Cynan Ellis-Evans, Martyn Tranter, Christoph Mayer, Jean-Robert Petit, Andrey Salamatin and John C. Priscu
Nature 414, 603-609(6 December 2001)
doi:10.1038/414603a
a, Circulation calculated by numerical modelling, assuming that the water is pure24–26. The white arrows show the bottom water circulation and the black arrows denote the higher level circulation close to the ice base. There are two clockwise circulation paths in the upper and lower regions of the lake. Most of the vertical mixing takes place in the southern two-thirds of the cavity, but this exchange is rather limited. Blue shading refers to predicted zones of subglacial freezing; red shading indicates subglacial melting. b, Circulation of Lake Vostok, thought to occur as a result of saline conditions7 (that is, 1.2–0.4
).
