The soil geochemistry in the Beardmore Glacier region, Antarctica : implications for terrestrial ecosystem history

Although most models suggest continental Antarctica was covered by ice during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) it has been speculated that endemic species of soil invertebrates could have survived the Pleistocene at high elevation habitats protruding above the ice sheets. We analyzed a series of soil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific Reports
Main Authors: Lyons, W. Berry, Deuerling, Kelly, Welch, Kathleen A., Welch, Susan A., Michalski, Gregory, Walters, Wendell W., Nielsen, Uffe N. (R17023), Wall, Diana H., Hogg, Ian D., Adams, Byron J.
Other Authors: Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (Host institution)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: U.K., Nature Publishing Group 2016
Subjects:
XXXXXX - Unknown
soil chemistry
Beardmore Glacier (Antarctica)
Last Glacial Maximum
Beardmore
Beardmore Glacier
Cloudmaker
Ebony Ridge
Meyer Desert
Transantarctic Mountains
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/uws:36043
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26189
Description
Summary:Although most models suggest continental Antarctica was covered by ice during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) it has been speculated that endemic species of soil invertebrates could have survived the Pleistocene at high elevation habitats protruding above the ice sheets. We analyzed a series of soil samples from different elevations at three locations along the Beardmore Glacier in the Transantarctic Mountains (in order of increasing elevation): Ebony Ridge (ER), Cloudmaker (CM), and Meyer Desert (MD). Geochemical analyses show the MD soils, which were exposed during the LGM, were the least weathered compared to lower elevations, and also had the highest total dissolved solids (TDS). MD soils are dominated by nitrate salts (NO3/Cl ratios 10) that can be observed in SEM images. High Δ17O and Δ18O values of the nitrate indicate that its source is solely of atmospheric origin. It is suggested that nitrate concentrations in the soil may be utilized to determine a relative "wetting age" to better assess invertebrate habitat suitability. The highest elevation sites at MD have been exposed and accumulating salts for the longest times, and because of the salt accumulations, they were not suitable as invertebrate refugia during the LGM.

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