(Table 1) Moisture content of buried snowpack deposit samples from Pearse Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys

Buried snowpack deposits are found within the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, which offers the opportunity to study these layered structures of sand and ice within a polar desert environment. Four discrete buried snowpacks are studied within Pearse Valley, Antarctica, through in situ observations...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Heldmann, J L, Marinova, M, Williams, K E, Lacelle, Denis, McKay, Christopher P, Davila, A, Pollard, W, Andersen, D T
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2012
Subjects:
DATE/TIME
Date/time end
EXC
Excavation
International Polar Year (2007-2008)
IPY
McMurdo Dry Valleys
southern Victorica Land
Antarctica
PearseValley
Sample ID
Sample type
Site
Water content
wet mass
Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctic Science
International Polar Year
polar desert
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.810715
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.810715
Description
Summary:Buried snowpack deposits are found within the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, which offers the opportunity to study these layered structures of sand and ice within a polar desert environment. Four discrete buried snowpacks are studied within Pearse Valley, Antarctica, through in situ observations, sample analyses, O-H isotope measurements and numerical modelling of snowpack stability and evolution. The buried snowpack deposits evolve throughout the year and undergo deposition, melt, refreeze, and sublimation. We demonstrate how the deposition and subsequent burial of snow can preserve the snowpacks in the Dry Valleys. The modelled lifetimes of the buried snowpacks are dependent upon subsurface stratigraphy but are typically less than one year if the lag thickness is less than c. 7 cm and snow thickness is less than c. 10 cm, indicating that some of the Antarctic buried snowpacks form annually. Buried snowpacks in the Antarctic polar desert may serve as analogues for similar deposits on Mars and may be applicable to observations of the north polar erg, buried ice at the Mars Phoenix landing site, and observations of buried ice throughout the martian Arctic. Numerical modelling suggests that seasonal snows and subsequent burial are not required to preserve the snow and ice on Mars.

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