Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T12:27:15.911Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Distribution of depth to ice-cemented soils in the high-elevation Quartermain Mountains, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2013

Margarita M. Marinova ,
Christopher P. Mckay ,
Wayne H. Pollard ,
Jennifer L. Heldmann ,
Alfonso F. Davila ,
Dale T. Andersen ,
W. Andrew Jackson ,
Denis Lacelle ,
Gale Paulsen  and
Kris Zacny
Margarita M. Marinova*
Affiliation:
Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Sonoma, CA 95476, USA Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Christopher P. Mckay
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Wayne H. Pollard
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 2K6, Canada
Jennifer L. Heldmann
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Alfonso F. Davila
Affiliation:
Space Science Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
Dale T. Andersen
Affiliation:
SETI Institute, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
W. Andrew Jackson
Affiliation:
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79401, USA
Denis Lacelle
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 6N5, Canada
Gale Paulsen
Affiliation:
Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, CA 91103, USA
Kris Zacny
Affiliation:
Honeybee Robotics, Pasadena, CA 91103, USA
*
[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We report on 475 measurements of depth to ice-cemented ground in four high-elevation valleys of the Quartermain Mountains, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. These valleys have pervasive ice-cemented ground, and the depth to ice-cemented ground and the ice composition may be indicators of climate change. In University Valley, the measured depth to ice-cemented ground ranges from 0–98 cm. There is an overall trend of increasing depth to ice-cemented ground with distance from a small glacier at the head of the valley, with a slope of 32 cm depth per kilometre along the valley floor. For Farnell Valley, the depth to ice-cemented ground is roughly constant (c. 30 cm) in the upper and central parts of the valley, but increases sharply as the valley descends into Beacon Valley. The two valleys north of University Valley also have extensive ice-cemented ground, with depths of 20–40 cm, but exhibit no clear patterns of ice depth with location. For all valleys there is a tendency for the variability in depth to ice-cemented ground at a site to increase with increasing depth to ice. Snow recurrence, solar insolation, and surface albedo may all be factors that cause site to site variations in these valleys.

Keywords

dry permafrostMarsUniversity Valleyvapour diffusion
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 25 , Issue 4 , August 2013 , pp. 575 - 582
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bidle, K.D., SangHoon, L., Marchant, D.R.Falkowski, P.G. 2007. Fossil genes and microbes in the oldest ice on Earth. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104, 13 455–13 460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bockheim, J.G. 2007. Soil processes and development rates in the Quartermain Mountains, upper Taylor Glacier region, Antarctica. Geografiska Annaler, 89A, 153–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bockheim, J.G., Campbell, I.B.McLeod, M. 2007. Permafrost distribution and active-layer depths in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 18, 217–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bockheim, J.G., Kurz, M.D., Soule, S.A.Burke, A. 2009. Genesis of active sand-filled polygons in lower and central Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 20, 295–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, S., Dundas, C.M., Kennedy, M.R. et al. 2009. Distribution of mid-latitude ground ice on Mars from new impact craters. Science, 325, 1674–1676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, I.B.Claridge, G.G.C. 1987. Antarctica: soils, weathering processes, and environment. New York: Elsevier, 368 pp.Google Scholar
Campbell, I.B.Claridge, G.G.C. 2006. Permafrost properties, patterns and processes in the Transantarctic Mountains region. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 17, 215–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dickinson, W.W.Hopkins, K. 2005. Preliminary report on soil and permafrost sampling: Beacon, Arena and Pearse valleys, Dry Valleys, Antarctica, Nov.–Dec. 2001. Victoria University of Wellington, Antarctic Data Series, No. 30, 41 pp.Google Scholar
Doran, P.T., McKay, C.P., Clow, G.D., Dana, G.L., Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T.Lyons, W.B. 2002. Valley floor climate observations from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, 1986–2000. Journal of Geophysical Research, 4710.1029/2001JD002045.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doran, P.T., McKay, C.P., Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T., McKnight, D.M., Jaros, C.Barrett, J.E. 2008. Hydrologic response to extreme warm and cold summers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 20, 499–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, W.C., Boynton, W.V., Tokar, R.L. et al. 2002. Global distribution of neutrons from Mars: results from Mars Odyssey. Science, 297, 75–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fountain, A.G., Nylen, T.H., Monaghan, A., Basagic, H.J.Bromwich, D. 2009. Snow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. International Journal of Climatology, 10.1002/joc.1933.Google Scholar
Gilichinsky, D.A., Wilson, G.S., Friedmann, E.I. et al. 2007. Microbial populations in Antarctic permafrost: biodiversity, state, age, and implication for astrobiology. Astrobiology, 7, 275–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hagedorn, B., Sletten, R.S.Hallet, B. 2007. Sublimation and ice condensation in hyperarid soils: modeling results using field data from Victoria Valley, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research, 3010.1029/2006JF000580.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hindmarsh, R.C.A., van der Wateren, F.M.Verbers, A.L.L.M. 1998. Sublimation of ice through sediment in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Geografiska Annaler, 80A, 209–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kowalewski, D.E., Marchant, D.R., Levy, J.S.Head, J.W. III 2006. Quantifying low rates of summertime sublimation for buried glacier ice in Beacon Valley. Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 18, 421–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kowalewski, D.E., Marchant, D.R., Swanger, K.M.Head, J.W. III 2011. Modeling vapor diffusion within cold and dry supraglacial tills of Antarctica: implications for the preservation of ancient ice. Geomorphology, 126, 159–173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lacelle, D., Davila, A.F., Pollard, W.H., Andersen, D., Heldmann, J., Marinova, M.McKay, C.P. 2011. Stability of massive ground ice bodies in University Valley, McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica: using stable O–H isotope as tracers of sublimation in hyper-arid regions. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 301, 403–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, J.S., Head, J.W.Marchant, D.R. 2009. Cold and dry processes in the Martian Arctic: geomorphic observations at the Phoenix landing site and comparisons with terrestrial cold desert landforms. Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2009GL040634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marchant, D.R., Lewis, A., Phillips, W.C., Moore, E.J., Souchez, R., Denton, G.H., Sugden, D.E., Potter, N. Jr.Landis, G.P. 2002. Formation of patterned-ground and sublimation till over Miocene glacier ice in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 114, 718–730.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margerison, H.R., Phillips, W.M., Stuart, F.M.Sugden, D.E. 2005. Cosmogenic He-3 concentrations in ancient flood deposits from the Coombs Hills, northern Dry Valleys, East Antarctica: interpreting exposure ages and erosion rates. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 230, 163–175.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marinova, M.M., McKay, C.P., Heldmann, J.L., Davila, A.F., Andersen, D.T., Jackson, W.A., Lacele, D., Paulson, G., Pollard, W.H.Zacny, K. 2011. Sublimation-dominated active layers in the highlands of the Antarctic dry valleys and implications for other sites. 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 7–11 March 2011, The Woodlands, Texas, contribution no. 1608, http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2644.pdf.Google Scholar
McKay, C.P. 2009. Snow recurrence sets the depth of dry permafrost at high elevations in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 21, 89–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKay, C.P., Mellon, M.T.Friedmann, E.I. 1998. Soil temperature and stability of ice-cemented ground in McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 10, 31–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mellon, M.T.Jakosky, B.M. 1993. Geographic variations in the thermal and diffusive stability of ground ice on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research, 98, 3345–3364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mellon, M.T., Feldman, W.C.Prettyman, T.H. 2004. The presence and stability of ground ice in the southern hemisphere of Mars. Icarus, 169, 324–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monaghan, A.J., Bromwich, D.H., Powers, J.G.Manning, K.W. 2005. The climate of the McMurdo, Antarctica region as represented by one year of forecasts from the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System. Journal of Climate, 18, 1174–1189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nylen, T.H., Fountain, A.G.Doran, P.T. 2004. Climatology of katabatic winds in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research, 10.1029/2003JD003937.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ng, F., Hallet, B., Sletten, R.S.Stone, J.O. 2005. Fast-growing till over ancient ice in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Geology, 33, 121–124.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powers, J.G., Monaghan, A.J., Cayette, A.M., Bromwich, D.H., Kuo, Y.-H.Manning, K.W. 2003. Real-time mesoscale modeling over Antarctica: the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS). Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 84, 1533–1545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schäfer, J.M., Bauer, H., Denton, G.H., Ivy-Ochs, S., Marchant, D.R., Schlüchter, C.Wieler, R. 2000. The oldest ice on Earth in Beacon Valley, Antarctica: new evidence from surface exposure dating. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 179, 91–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schorghofer, N. 2005. A physical mechanism for long-term survival of ground ice in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters, 10.1029/2005GL023881.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schorghofer, N.Aharonson, O. 2005. Stability and exchange of subsurface ice on Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research, 10.1029/2004JE002350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sletten, R.S., Hallet, B.Fletcher, R.C. 2003. Resurfacing time of terrestrial surfaces by the formation and maturation of polygonal patterned ground. Journal of Geophysical Research, 10.1029/2002JE001914.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, P., Tamppari, L.K., Arvidson, R.E. et al. 2009. H2O at the Phoenix landing site. Science, 325, 58–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugden, D.E., Marchant, D.R., Potter, N. Jr., Souchez, R.A., Denton, G.H., Swisher, C.C. IIITison, J.-L. 1995. Preservation of Miocene glacier ice in East Antarctica. Nature, 376, 412–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tamppari, L.K., Anderson, R.M., Archer, P.D. Jr., Douglas, S., Kounaves, S.P., McKay, C.P., Ming, D.W., Moore, Q., Quinn, J.E., Smith, P.H., Stroble, S.Zent, A.P. 2012. Effects of extreme cold and aridity on soils and habitability: McMurdo Dry Valleys as an analogue for the Mars Phoenix landing site. Antarctic Science, 24, 211–228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vasavada, A.R., Paige, D.A.Wood, S.E. 1999. Near-surface temperatures on Mercury and the Moon and the stability of polar ice deposits. Icarus, 141, 179–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Marinova Supplementary Material

Appendix

Download Marinova Supplementary Material(File)
File 5.6 KB