Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment
Abstract Aeolian sand and dust in polar regions are transported offshore over sea ice and released to the ocean during summer melt. This process has long been considered an important contributor to polar sea floor sedimentation and as a source of bioavailable iron that triggers vast phytoplankton bl...
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crwiley:10.1111/sed.12108 2023-12-03T10:13:59+01:00 Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment Chewings, Jane M. Atkins, Cliff B. Dunbar, Gavin B. Golledge, Nicholas R. Lancaster, Nick New Zealand Ministry for Science and Innovation The Dominion Post Scholarship in Antarctic Research VUW Antarctic Research Centre Endowed Development Fund Geoscience Society of New Zealand 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sed.12108 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fsed.12108 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/sed.12108 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/sed.12108 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Sedimentology volume 61, issue 6, page 1535-1557 ISSN 0037-0746 1365-3091 Stratigraphy Geology General Medicine journal-article 2014 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12108 2023-11-09T13:48:41Z Abstract Aeolian sand and dust in polar regions are transported offshore over sea ice and released to the ocean during summer melt. This process has long been considered an important contributor to polar sea floor sedimentation and as a source of bioavailable iron that triggers vast phytoplankton blooms. Reported here are aeolian sediment dispersal patterns and accumulation rates varying between 0·2 g m −2 yr −1 and 55 g m −2 yr −1 over 3000 km 2 of sea ice in McMurdo Sound, south‐west Ross Sea, adjacent to the largest ice free area in Antarctica. Sediment distribution and the abundance of southern McMurdo Volcanic Group‐derived glass, show that most sediment originates from the McMurdo Ice Shelf and nearby coastal outcrops. Almost no sediment is derived from the extensive ice free areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys due to winnowed surficial layers shielding sand‐sized and silt‐sized material from wind erosion and because of the imposing topographic barrier of the north‐south aligned piedmont glaciers. Southerly winds of intermediate strength ( ca 20 m sec −1 ) are primarily responsible for transporting sediment northwards and offshore. The results presented here indicate that sand‐sized sediment does not travel more than ca 5 km offshore, but very‐fine sand and silt grains can travel >100 km from source. For sites >10 km from the coast, the mass accumulation rate is relatively uniform (1·14 ± 0·57 g m −2 yr −1 ), three orders of magnitude above estimated global atmospheric dust values for the region. This uniformity represents a sea floor sedimentation rate of only 0·2 cm kyr −1 , well below the rates of >9 cm kyr −1 reported for biogenic‐dominated sedimentation measured over much of the Ross Sea. These results show that, even for this region of high‐windblown sediment flux, aeolian processes are only a minor contributor to sea floor sedimentation, excepting areas proximal to coastal sources. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf McMurdo Dry Valleys McMurdo Ice Shelf McMurdo Sound Ross Sea Sea ice Wiley Online Library (via Crossref) McMurdo Dry Valleys McMurdo Ice Shelf ENVELOPE(166.500,166.500,-78.000,-78.000) McMurdo Sound Ross Sea Sedimentology 61 6 1535 1557 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
topic |
Stratigraphy Geology General Medicine |
spellingShingle |
Stratigraphy Geology General Medicine Chewings, Jane M. Atkins, Cliff B. Dunbar, Gavin B. Golledge, Nicholas R. Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
topic_facet |
Stratigraphy Geology General Medicine |
description |
Abstract Aeolian sand and dust in polar regions are transported offshore over sea ice and released to the ocean during summer melt. This process has long been considered an important contributor to polar sea floor sedimentation and as a source of bioavailable iron that triggers vast phytoplankton blooms. Reported here are aeolian sediment dispersal patterns and accumulation rates varying between 0·2 g m −2 yr −1 and 55 g m −2 yr −1 over 3000 km 2 of sea ice in McMurdo Sound, south‐west Ross Sea, adjacent to the largest ice free area in Antarctica. Sediment distribution and the abundance of southern McMurdo Volcanic Group‐derived glass, show that most sediment originates from the McMurdo Ice Shelf and nearby coastal outcrops. Almost no sediment is derived from the extensive ice free areas of the McMurdo Dry Valleys due to winnowed surficial layers shielding sand‐sized and silt‐sized material from wind erosion and because of the imposing topographic barrier of the north‐south aligned piedmont glaciers. Southerly winds of intermediate strength ( ca 20 m sec −1 ) are primarily responsible for transporting sediment northwards and offshore. The results presented here indicate that sand‐sized sediment does not travel more than ca 5 km offshore, but very‐fine sand and silt grains can travel >100 km from source. For sites >10 km from the coast, the mass accumulation rate is relatively uniform (1·14 ± 0·57 g m −2 yr −1 ), three orders of magnitude above estimated global atmospheric dust values for the region. This uniformity represents a sea floor sedimentation rate of only 0·2 cm kyr −1 , well below the rates of >9 cm kyr −1 reported for biogenic‐dominated sedimentation measured over much of the Ross Sea. These results show that, even for this region of high‐windblown sediment flux, aeolian processes are only a minor contributor to sea floor sedimentation, excepting areas proximal to coastal sources. |
author2 |
Lancaster, Nick New Zealand Ministry for Science and Innovation The Dominion Post Scholarship in Antarctic Research VUW Antarctic Research Centre Endowed Development Fund Geoscience Society of New Zealand |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Chewings, Jane M. Atkins, Cliff B. Dunbar, Gavin B. Golledge, Nicholas R. |
author_facet |
Chewings, Jane M. Atkins, Cliff B. Dunbar, Gavin B. Golledge, Nicholas R. |
author_sort |
Chewings, Jane M. |
title |
Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
title_short |
Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
title_full |
Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
title_fullStr |
Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
title_sort |
aeolian sediment transport and deposition in a modern high‐latitude glacial marine environment |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sed.12108 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fsed.12108 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/sed.12108 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/sed.12108 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(166.500,166.500,-78.000,-78.000) |
geographic |
McMurdo Dry Valleys McMurdo Ice Shelf McMurdo Sound Ross Sea |
geographic_facet |
McMurdo Dry Valleys McMurdo Ice Shelf McMurdo Sound Ross Sea |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf McMurdo Dry Valleys McMurdo Ice Shelf McMurdo Sound Ross Sea Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Ice Shelf McMurdo Dry Valleys McMurdo Ice Shelf McMurdo Sound Ross Sea Sea ice |
op_source |
Sedimentology volume 61, issue 6, page 1535-1557 ISSN 0037-0746 1365-3091 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12108 |
container_title |
Sedimentology |
container_volume |
61 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1535 |
op_container_end_page |
1557 |
_version_ |
1784261020469952512 |