Early field work at BSL, probably in
the winter of 1 981 . The author is
running Winkler traons of
dissolved O2 using a trunk as a lab
bench. The small boat is visible as is
the high crater rim of the lake’s
eastern side.
Early field work at BSL, probably in the winter of 1981. The author is running Winkler titrations of
dissolved O 2 using a trunk as a lab bench. The small boat is visible as is the high crater rim of the
lake’s eastern side
31.1.4 Ginfight at the O.K. Corral (in Back of the Lariat)
Once back home in my lab I was glad to find that the extracted gases contained
abundant methane and other light hydrocarbons (Oremland and Des Marais 1983),
and that there was evident methanogenic activity (Oremland et al. 1982) in the
incubated sediment samples we collected. My interest was piqued—and I needed to
go back for more. This became an evolving process which started snowballing as my
interest and enthusiasm gained and I tried to recruit others, which included my friend
and colleague Jim Cloern who I convinced to examine seasonal primary production
in the lake’s water column (Cloern et al. 1983a, b). Over the years, the investigations
took on new colleagues and new perspectives, with something like a dozen or so
papers directly focused on Big Soda Lake (BSL) published, along with several
others that used BSL material (sediments) to delineate novel anaerobic process,
plus summary reviews (Oremland et al. 1985, 1988). The final “coup” was a series of
four papers published sequentially in a single issue of Limnology & Oceanography
(Zehr et al. 1987; Smith and Oremland 1987; Iversen et al. 1987; Cloern et al. 1987).
By 1984 or so, we were feeling pretty cocky and started to think we should try for
something bigger to tackle, like Mono Lake. It too had become meromictic owing to
the large influx of freshwater runoff associated with two very wet El Nino winters.
For a couple of years in the mid-1980s, we would sometimes combine our field trips
to BSL with a follow-up to Mono. By this time we were driving newer vehicles,
including a laboratory truck, and were towing well-equipped Boston Whalers for use
on the lakes. I will write about some of our Mono Lake experiences in later, but I
wish to recall an incident that occurred at the back of the Lariat’s garage in about
August, 1986.
31 Salty, Alkali-Laced Tales (Mostly True) from the Great Basin Desert, California. . .
659
the winter of 1 981 . The author is
running Winkler traons of
dissolved O2 using a trunk as a lab
bench. The small boat is visible as is
the high crater rim of the lake’s
eastern side.
Early field work at BSL, probably in the winter of 1981. The author is running Winkler titrations of
dissolved O 2 using a trunk as a lab bench. The small boat is visible as is the high crater rim of the
lake’s eastern side
31.1.4 Ginfight at the O.K. Corral (in Back of the Lariat)
Once back home in my lab I was glad to find that the extracted gases contained
abundant methane and other light hydrocarbons (Oremland and Des Marais 1983),
and that there was evident methanogenic activity (Oremland et al. 1982) in the
incubated sediment samples we collected. My interest was piqued—and I needed to
go back for more. This became an evolving process which started snowballing as my
interest and enthusiasm gained and I tried to recruit others, which included my friend
and colleague Jim Cloern who I convinced to examine seasonal primary production
in the lake’s water column (Cloern et al. 1983a, b). Over the years, the investigations
took on new colleagues and new perspectives, with something like a dozen or so
papers directly focused on Big Soda Lake (BSL) published, along with several
others that used BSL material (sediments) to delineate novel anaerobic process,
plus summary reviews (Oremland et al. 1985, 1988). The final “coup” was a series of
four papers published sequentially in a single issue of Limnology & Oceanography
(Zehr et al. 1987; Smith and Oremland 1987; Iversen et al. 1987; Cloern et al. 1987).
By 1984 or so, we were feeling pretty cocky and started to think we should try for
something bigger to tackle, like Mono Lake. It too had become meromictic owing to
the large influx of freshwater runoff associated with two very wet El Nino winters.
For a couple of years in the mid-1980s, we would sometimes combine our field trips
to BSL with a follow-up to Mono. By this time we were driving newer vehicles,
including a laboratory truck, and were towing well-equipped Boston Whalers for use
on the lakes. I will write about some of our Mono Lake experiences in later, but I
wish to recall an incident that occurred at the back of the Lariat’s garage in about
August, 1986.
31 Salty, Alkali-Laced Tales (Mostly True) from the Great Basin Desert, California. . .
659