Ecological problems of the lakes of East Antarctica
The paper discusses the features of the hydrological and biological regimes of diﬀerent types of lakes in East Antarctic oases Thala Hills, Schirmacher and Larsemann Hills in the summer period of 2010-2011. A retrospective analysis of changes in the state of the lakes depending on natural and anthropogenic factors was carried out. The closedown of Molodezhnaya station led to restoration of the state of the Glubokoe Lake, with total phosphorus content in water decreasing to the background level. Restoration of lakes in the zone of inﬂuence of Novolazarevskaya station after putting into operation the wastewater treatment plant was observed. Climate warming trends for the Schirmacher oasis area were noted. In recent decades, breakup of ice has been observed in summer months for some lakes that were permanently covered with ice in the mid-20th century. Ice-covered lakes are homothermal with water temperature of 4 °C; after ice breakup the water cools down to 0.5 °C due to wind wave mixing.