Geochemical and glacio-geomorphic implications of basalt weathering in the Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica

• Published in: Geological Magazine
• Main Authors: Talkington, R. W., Mayewski, P. A., Gaudette, H. E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1982
• Subjects: Cumulus Hills; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0016756800027047; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0016756800027047

Summary The weathering of a suite of basalt clasts, that have been transported by mass wasting downslope in the Cumulus Hills region of the Queen Maud Mountains, Antarctica, is examined from both geochemical and glacio-geomorphic viewpoints. Chemical weathering, predominantly oxidation and hydration, increases in severity from clast core to rim for the suite. These weathering processes and concomitant formation of a weathering rind are suggested to be an accumulative process, culminating in the disaggregation of the rock due in part both to the chemical breakdown of the interstitial and intersertal basaltic glass and to physical weathering processes. Mass wasting rates in the range of 1.4 × 10 −3 −1.13 × 10 −1 cm. y −1 are estimated, assuming that the style of transport is dry creep. These transport rates suggest that the rock-surface/air-temperature differences in the study area may have been as little as 0.5 °C and heating and cooling cycles as few as 1 cy. y −1 for the last 4.2 Ma.