Mineralogy and Chemistry of Arctic Desert Soils on Ellef Ringnes Island, Arctic Canada

• Published in: Soil Science Society of America Journal
• Main Authors: Foscolos, A. E., Kodama, H.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1981
• Subjects: Soil Science; Arctic; Canadian Arctic Archipelago; Canada; Ellef Ringnes Island; Arctic Archipelago
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1981.03615995004500050035x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.2136%2Fsssaj1981.03615995004500050035x; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.2136/sssaj1981.03615995004500050035x/fullpdf

Abstract Morphological, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics of five soil profiles derived from different parent materials have been studied on the Ellef Ringnes Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The aim was to investigate weathering and pedogenesis of Arctic desert soils. Morphological, mineralogical, and chemical data of the soil horizons indicate that there is very little soil differentiation between the parent material and the top horizons. However, since the Wisconsin retreat, some 11,000 years ago, bioxidation of pyrite Thiobacillus ferroxidans has converted most of the studied soil to acid sulfate soils containing sulfate‐bearing minerals such as natrojarosite and gypsum.