Lake Burton, Antarctica

Lake Burton Burton Lagoon
Lake Burton Location of Lake Burton in Antarctica
Location	Antarctica
Coordinates	68°38′S 78°06′E / 68.633°S 78.100°E / -68.633; 78.100Coordinates: 68°38′S 78°06′E / 68.633°S 78.100°E / -68.633; 78.100
Lake type	Meromictic
Primary inflows	Streams from Vestfold Hills
Primary outflows	Tidal channel with Crooked Fjord
Basin countries	Australian Antarctic Territory
Surface area	1.35 km2 (0.52 sq mi)
Average depth	7.16 m (23.5 ft)
Max. depth	18.3 m (60 ft)
Water volume	9.69 million cubic metres (7,860 acre·ft)
Frozen	Yes
Islands	None

Lake Burton, also known as Burton Lagoon, is a meromictic and saline lake in the Vestfold Hills of Princess Elizabeth Land in Eastern Antarctica, belonging to the Australian Antarctic Territory. The lake has a surface area of 1.35 km² (0.52 sq mi), a volume of 9.69 million m³, a maximum depth of 18.3 metres (60 ft) and a mean depth of 7.16 metres (23.5 ft). The lake is named after H. R. Burton, a biologist working in the Vestfold Hills of Antarctica.

The lake is covered with ice for 10–11 months in a year. A tidal channel links the lake with Crooked Fjord only seasonally for about 6–7 months in the year. The tidal channel has a width of 20 metres (66 ft) and is about 2 metres (6.6 ft) deep. Lake Burton is the only meromictic lagoon that is part of the Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 143, within East Antarctica, and access to the lake can only legally be obtained by a special permit and adhering to some strict regulations.

A diatom floristic study of the lagoon revealed that it contains 41 species and is a rich storehouse of psychrophilic photosynthetic bacteria. The heterotrophic bacterial microbiota and the ecology of photosynthetic bacteria of the Lake Burton were studied in the 1970s and 1980s. Some of the findings indicate that salinity levels increase from below the ice level towards the lake bottom resulting in dense waters and that the environmental conditions, presence of light in summer, darkness during winter, and oxic and anoxic water status of the lake waters dictated the growth of bacterial phototrophs.

Lake Burton is located on the Ingrid Christensen Coast in Princess Elizabeth Land in Eastern Antarctica on roughly the same longitude as central India. This area of the coastline lies between Jennings Promontory, at 72°33'E, and the western end of the West Ice Shelf at 81°24'E in the western half of Princess Elizabeth Land, just east of Amery Ice Shelf. The lake is named after H. R. Burton, a biologist working in the Vestfold Hills of Antarctica. The lake, formerly an arm of the sea, is a dominant feature of the western side of the Vestfold Hills area in what is known as the Mule Peninsula. The lake lies to the northwest of the Sorsdal Glacier, southeast of Oldroyd Island and southwest of the Tryne Islands. The lake has a surface area of 1.35 km² (0.52 sq mi), a volume of 9.69 million m³, a maximum depth of 18.3 metres (60 ft) and a mean depth of 7.16 metres (23.5 ft).