Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica
Abstract Soil chronosequences in till deposits emplaced during glacial retreat in the Central Transantarctic Mountains are described. Discrepancies between the degree of soil development and reported cosmogenic surface exposure ages suggest slower, weaker soil development in this region than encount...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000078 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000078 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0954102014000078 2024-09-09T19:09:32+00:00 Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica Scarrow, Joshua W. Balks, Megan R. Almond, Peter C. 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000078 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000078 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Antarctic Science volume 26, issue 5, page 573-583 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 journal-article 2014 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000078 2024-06-19T04:02:58Z Abstract Soil chronosequences in till deposits emplaced during glacial retreat in the Central Transantarctic Mountains are described. Discrepancies between the degree of soil development and reported cosmogenic surface exposure ages suggest slower, weaker soil development in this region than encountered in other areas of Antarctica. The study sites (Dominion Range, Mount Achernar and Ong Valley) were located between 83° and 85°S, at altitudes of 1600–2200 m, on the edge of the polar plateau. Soil landscape maps show a gradation of soil properties across landscape units that were designated as homogenous/single-event drifts in previous smaller-scale studies. Along transects away from the current ice edge, the depth to underlying ice thickened (from 2 cm to > 80 cm), soil became more weathered, saltier and less alkaline, and horizonation became more pronounced. Soil thickness, clast abundance and soil chemistry are all consistent with a two-layer mode of soil formation. We suggest that a thin, clast-rich surface horizon, originating from weathering of supraglacial debris, overlies a thick, clast-poor sublimation till. The supraglacial debris has a finite contribution to soil volume, whereas sublimation offers an ongoing source of soil material that thickens the soil from its base. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica Cambridge University Press Achernar ENVELOPE(160.933,160.933,-84.200,-84.200) Dominion Range ENVELOPE(166.500,166.500,-85.333,-85.333) Mount Achernar ENVELOPE(160.933,160.933,-84.200,-84.200) Ong Valley ENVELOPE(157.617,157.617,-83.233,-83.233) Polar Plateau ENVELOPE(0.000,0.000,-90.000,-90.000) Transantarctic Mountains Antarctic Science 26 5 573 583 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Soil chronosequences in till deposits emplaced during glacial retreat in the Central Transantarctic Mountains are described. Discrepancies between the degree of soil development and reported cosmogenic surface exposure ages suggest slower, weaker soil development in this region than encountered in other areas of Antarctica. The study sites (Dominion Range, Mount Achernar and Ong Valley) were located between 83° and 85°S, at altitudes of 1600–2200 m, on the edge of the polar plateau. Soil landscape maps show a gradation of soil properties across landscape units that were designated as homogenous/single-event drifts in previous smaller-scale studies. Along transects away from the current ice edge, the depth to underlying ice thickened (from 2 cm to > 80 cm), soil became more weathered, saltier and less alkaline, and horizonation became more pronounced. Soil thickness, clast abundance and soil chemistry are all consistent with a two-layer mode of soil formation. We suggest that a thin, clast-rich surface horizon, originating from weathering of supraglacial debris, overlies a thick, clast-poor sublimation till. The supraglacial debris has a finite contribution to soil volume, whereas sublimation offers an ongoing source of soil material that thickens the soil from its base. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Scarrow, Joshua W. Balks, Megan R. Almond, Peter C. |
spellingShingle |
Scarrow, Joshua W. Balks, Megan R. Almond, Peter C. Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica |
author_facet |
Scarrow, Joshua W. Balks, Megan R. Almond, Peter C. |
author_sort |
Scarrow, Joshua W. |
title |
Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica |
title_short |
Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica |
title_full |
Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the Central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica |
title_sort |
three soil chronosequences in recessional glacial deposits near the polar plateau, in the central transantarctic mountains, antarctica |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000078 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102014000078 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(160.933,160.933,-84.200,-84.200) ENVELOPE(166.500,166.500,-85.333,-85.333) ENVELOPE(160.933,160.933,-84.200,-84.200) ENVELOPE(157.617,157.617,-83.233,-83.233) ENVELOPE(0.000,0.000,-90.000,-90.000) |
geographic |
Achernar Dominion Range Mount Achernar Ong Valley Polar Plateau Transantarctic Mountains |
geographic_facet |
Achernar Dominion Range Mount Achernar Ong Valley Polar Plateau Transantarctic Mountains |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Science Antarctica |
op_source |
Antarctic Science volume 26, issue 5, page 573-583 ISSN 0954-1020 1365-2079 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954102014000078 |
container_title |
Antarctic Science |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
573 |
op_container_end_page |
583 |
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1809823789282754560 |