Life in Don Juan Pond

Don Juan Pond is a shallow lake in the WrightAnother property of concentrated Calcium
Valley in Victoria Land in Antarctica. The WrightChloride solutions is that they freeze at a much
Valley is one of the "Dry Valleys" of Antarctica.lower temperature than pure water.
Clearly since it has a lake, it is not completely dry.Normally Don Juan Pond can drop to minus 53
Saltydegrees C (Minus 63 Degrees F) without freezing.
Don Juan Pond is the saltiest lake known on Earth.Once, after more water had got into the lake
It contains about 18 times as much total salts asthan usual and the salt was diluted than normal, it
the ocean. As a comparison, the Dead Sea onlydid freeze.
has about 8 times as much as the ocean. WhileLife
the Dead Sea is mainly Sodium Chloride like theDespite this nasty chemical soup in Don Juan
ocean, the main salt in Don Juan Pond is CalciumPond, and the low temperatures it does support
Chloride.life.
Drying AgentAlgae Mats
Calcium Chloride has been used in schoolEarlier reports that there were no photosynthetic
laboratories as a drying agent. Solid Calciumorganisms on this lake were incorrect. There is a
Chloride in a normal room atmosphere absorbsfairly extensive mat of algae. Only about 4 mm
water from the air and becomes liquid. If the liquidthick, but extending over perhaps 600 square
is left, it will continue to absorb water until itmetres. This mat contains a wide variety of
reaches equilibrium, depending on the actualorganisms, not all photosynthetic. These include
humidity and temperature of the air.Algae like Cholera, diatoms, and molds like Penicillin.
Calcium Chloride solution is also corrosive toThe presence of the photosynthetic organism is
metals, and it tastes bad.very important to the ecosystem in general.
Liquid