page_title: Lake Burton (Antarctica)
section_title: Protected area
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Burton (Antarctica) / Protected area
caption_attribution_description: Relief map of Lake Burton
context_page_description: Lake Burton, also known as Burton Lagoon, is a meromictic and saline lake in the Vestfold Hills of Princess Elizabeth Land in Eastern Antarctica. Princess Elizabeth Land, including the lake, is claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory. The lake has a surface area of 1.35 km², a volume of 9.69 million m³, a maximum depth of 18.3 metres and a mean depth of 7.16 metres. 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 and is about 2 metres deep. Lake Burton is the only meromictic lagoon that is part of the Antarctic Specially Protected Area 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.
context_section_description: Lake Burton is the only meromictic lagoon that is part of the Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No. 143, within East Antarctica.  The lake is also defined as lagoon as it characterizes a stage in the biological and physio-chemical evolution of a terrestrial water body from the marine environment namely, the geological creation of a lake.
  Entry restrictions
  Entry to the protected area, including the lake, is controlled by the Australian government. Permits are strictly issued only for specific scientific research in the field of paleontology, paleoclimate, geology, geomorphology, glaciology, biology and limnology. Visits for educational or cultural reasons, which are mandatory within a defined management plan, are also permitted. Any such visit must not cause harm to the ecological or scientific values of the area.
  Access and movement within the protected areas is restricted. In the lake area in particular, no motorized boats are permitted. Flying over the lakes is also discouraged except for scientific reasons. Vehicular traffic is banned in the reserved areas. Taking samples from the lake is to be kept to the minimum even for scientific studies and also the equipment brought from outside for sampling, and it must be thoroughly washed to avoid any type of contamination from outside. There are many more rules and regulations that are set by the authorities, which have to be strictly adhered to.
caption: Relief map showing location
exif: {}