Lake Elgygytgyn, also transcripted El'gygytgyn, ( Russian and Chukchi: Эльгыгытгын) is a crater lake in Anadyrsky District, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in northeast Siberia, about southeast of Chaunskaya Bay. The word "Elgygytgyn" means "white lake" in the Chukchi language. The lake is of particular interest to scientists because it has never been covered by

glacier A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

s. This has allowed the uninterrupted build-up of of

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

at the bottom of the lake, recording information on prehistoric

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

Geography

Lake Elgygytgyn is an impact crater lake located in the Anadyr Plateau, part of the Anadyr Highlands. It is drained to the southeast by the Enmyvaam, a tributary of the Belaya. It is approximately in diameter and has a maximum depth of . The lake is centered within an impact crater with a rim diameter of that formed 3.6 million years ago during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Zhamanshin as the source of the young Australasian strewnfield.

Scientific drilling

In late 2008 and early 2009, an international team conducted a drilling program targeting three holes in Elgygytgyn Lake. The resulting cores are designated ICPD Site 5011-1 and 5011-3.

Fauna

The conditions in Elgygytgyn lake are extremely severe for fish life, being classed as an ultra- oligotrophic lake and the surface covered by ice for around 10 months of the year. Even so, there are three species permanently inhabiting the lake's harsh aquatic environment, all species of char. These are '' Salvelinus boganidae'' (Boganid Char), '' S. elgyticus'' (Small-mouth Char) and '' Salvethymus svetovidovi'' (Long-finned Char). The two latter species are endemic to the Elgygytgyn lake. All three species are adapted to the lake's extremely cold waters, which are generally just above the freezing point, and spend most of the year in total darkness. It may start to melt in the summer, but some years it never fully thaws.Arctic char ''(Salvelinus alpinus)'' in the lake
/ref> The lake is also home to more than a dozen endemic diatoms.

References

External links

Dr. Matt Nolan at the University of Alaska Fairbanks

PhysOrg.com.
NASA Earth Observatory

''Haltia E. M.'', ''Nowaczyk N. R.'' Magnetostratigraphy of sediments from Lake El’gygytgyn ICDP Site 5011-1: paleomagnetic age constraints for the longest paleoclimate record from the continental Arctic, 2014.
{{Authority control Impact craters of Russia Elgygytgyn Pliocene Landforms of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Impact craters of the Arctic Impact crater lakes Anadyrsky District

Geography

Scientific drilling

Fauna

See also

References

External links