Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica)
Soils in ice-free areas of Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands) have been forming since the last deglaciation following the glacial retreat that started in the area probably later than 9.7-5.5 ka. In paraglacial landscapes, landforms and processes in transition from glacial to nonglacial conditi...
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ftunivgent:oai:archive.ugent.be:8772159 2023-06-11T04:04:55+02:00 Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) Navas, Ana Serrano, Enrique Lopez-Martinez, Jeronimo Gaspar, Leticia Lizaga Villuendas, Ivan 2018 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8772159 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8772159 https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2987 eng eng https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8772159 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8772159 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2987 LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT ISSN: 1085-3278 ISSN: 1099-145X Earth and Environmental Sciences SOUTH-SHETLAND ISLANDS KING-GEORGE ISLAND PENINSULA LIVINGSTON ISLAND BYERS PENINSULA ORNITHOGENIC CRYOSOLS UNCULTIVATED SOILS ACTIVE LAYER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION DISTRIBUTIONS geochemistry moraines and platforms radionuclides soils and geomorphology West Antarctica journalArticle info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftunivgent https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2987 2023-04-19T22:12:14Z Soils in ice-free areas of Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands) have been forming since the last deglaciation following the glacial retreat that started in the area probably later than 9.7-5.5 ka. In paraglacial landscapes, landforms and processes in transition from glacial to nonglacial conditions are experiencing rapid environmental adjustments under conditions of climate change. Soils are highly sensitive and can be good descriptors of these transitional changes. A soil sampling campaign was undertaken for characterizing soils developed on moraines and marine platforms, underlain by metamorphic rocks and with distinctive periglacial features. Eight soil profiles were sampled to investigate the processes involved in their development and the relations with main landforms and processes of ice retreat. The stony Cryosols with mosses and lichens coverage are developed in permafrost environment with an active layer depth of 15-150 cm. Soil organic C content (0.16-1.6%) and large variations of P, K and N contents are related to ornithogenic activity. Soils on moraines and platforms show differences that reflect the more recent exposure of moraines that preserve most the characteristics of the parent material. More vegetated soils on platforms show Cs-137 and Pb-210(ex) activities (11 and 25 Bq kg(-1), respectively) at the topsoil whereas absence of Cs-137 and depleted levels of Pb-210(ex) occurred in more recently exposed and less developed soils on moraines. Fallout radionuclides are good tracers for identifying characteristics of soil development and providing information on environmental changes of interest to understand the soil response to actual changes in unstable paraglacial environments. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica Elephant Island Ice King George Island Livingston Island permafrost South Shetland Islands West Antarctica Ghent University Academic Bibliography Byers ENVELOPE(-60.283,-60.283,-63.900,-63.900) Byers peninsula ENVELOPE(-61.066,-61.066,-62.633,-62.633) Elephant Island ENVELOPE(-55.184,-55.184,-61.085,-61.085) King George Island Livingston Island ENVELOPE(-60.500,-60.500,-62.600,-62.600) South Shetland Islands West Antarctica Land Degradation & Development 29 9 3141 3158 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Ghent University Academic Bibliography |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgent |
language |
English |
topic |
Earth and Environmental Sciences SOUTH-SHETLAND ISLANDS KING-GEORGE ISLAND PENINSULA LIVINGSTON ISLAND BYERS PENINSULA ORNITHOGENIC CRYOSOLS UNCULTIVATED SOILS ACTIVE LAYER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION DISTRIBUTIONS geochemistry moraines and platforms radionuclides soils and geomorphology West Antarctica |
spellingShingle |
Earth and Environmental Sciences SOUTH-SHETLAND ISLANDS KING-GEORGE ISLAND PENINSULA LIVINGSTON ISLAND BYERS PENINSULA ORNITHOGENIC CRYOSOLS UNCULTIVATED SOILS ACTIVE LAYER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION DISTRIBUTIONS geochemistry moraines and platforms radionuclides soils and geomorphology West Antarctica Navas, Ana Serrano, Enrique Lopez-Martinez, Jeronimo Gaspar, Leticia Lizaga Villuendas, Ivan Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) |
topic_facet |
Earth and Environmental Sciences SOUTH-SHETLAND ISLANDS KING-GEORGE ISLAND PENINSULA LIVINGSTON ISLAND BYERS PENINSULA ORNITHOGENIC CRYOSOLS UNCULTIVATED SOILS ACTIVE LAYER CLIMATE CLASSIFICATION DISTRIBUTIONS geochemistry moraines and platforms radionuclides soils and geomorphology West Antarctica |
description |
Soils in ice-free areas of Elephant Island (South Shetland Islands) have been forming since the last deglaciation following the glacial retreat that started in the area probably later than 9.7-5.5 ka. In paraglacial landscapes, landforms and processes in transition from glacial to nonglacial conditions are experiencing rapid environmental adjustments under conditions of climate change. Soils are highly sensitive and can be good descriptors of these transitional changes. A soil sampling campaign was undertaken for characterizing soils developed on moraines and marine platforms, underlain by metamorphic rocks and with distinctive periglacial features. Eight soil profiles were sampled to investigate the processes involved in their development and the relations with main landforms and processes of ice retreat. The stony Cryosols with mosses and lichens coverage are developed in permafrost environment with an active layer depth of 15-150 cm. Soil organic C content (0.16-1.6%) and large variations of P, K and N contents are related to ornithogenic activity. Soils on moraines and platforms show differences that reflect the more recent exposure of moraines that preserve most the characteristics of the parent material. More vegetated soils on platforms show Cs-137 and Pb-210(ex) activities (11 and 25 Bq kg(-1), respectively) at the topsoil whereas absence of Cs-137 and depleted levels of Pb-210(ex) occurred in more recently exposed and less developed soils on moraines. Fallout radionuclides are good tracers for identifying characteristics of soil development and providing information on environmental changes of interest to understand the soil response to actual changes in unstable paraglacial environments. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Navas, Ana Serrano, Enrique Lopez-Martinez, Jeronimo Gaspar, Leticia Lizaga Villuendas, Ivan |
author_facet |
Navas, Ana Serrano, Enrique Lopez-Martinez, Jeronimo Gaspar, Leticia Lizaga Villuendas, Ivan |
author_sort |
Navas, Ana |
title |
Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) |
title_short |
Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) |
title_full |
Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) |
title_fullStr |
Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica) |
title_sort |
interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of elephant island (maritime antarctica) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8772159 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8772159 https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2987 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-60.283,-60.283,-63.900,-63.900) ENVELOPE(-61.066,-61.066,-62.633,-62.633) ENVELOPE(-55.184,-55.184,-61.085,-61.085) ENVELOPE(-60.500,-60.500,-62.600,-62.600) |
geographic |
Byers Byers peninsula Elephant Island King George Island Livingston Island South Shetland Islands West Antarctica |
geographic_facet |
Byers Byers peninsula Elephant Island King George Island Livingston Island South Shetland Islands West Antarctica |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica Elephant Island Ice King George Island Livingston Island permafrost South Shetland Islands West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica Elephant Island Ice King George Island Livingston Island permafrost South Shetland Islands West Antarctica |
op_source |
LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT ISSN: 1085-3278 ISSN: 1099-145X |
op_relation |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8772159 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8772159 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2987 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2987 |
container_title |
Land Degradation & Development |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
3141 |
op_container_end_page |
3158 |
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1768391931523497984 |