Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T00:43:21.019Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Slow regolith degradation without creep determined by cosmogenic nuclide measurements in Arena Valley, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jaakko Putkonen ,
Greg Balco  and
Daniel Morgan
Jaakko Putkonen*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, MS 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Greg Balco
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, MS 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
Daniel Morgan
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, MS 351310, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
*
*Corresponding author.E-mail address:[email protected] (J. Putkonen).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Estimates of regolith degradation in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are currently based on indirect evidence and ancient ashes at or near the soil surface that suggest excellent preservation of surfaces. On the other hand, the existing cosmogenic-nuclide surface exposure ages from many parts of the Dry Valleys are younger than the age of surface deposits inferred from stratigraphic relations. This suggests some combination of surface erosion or past ice cover, both of which would reduce the apparent exposure age. This paper quantifies the regolith degradation and/or past ice cover by measuring10Be and26Al from a landslide deposit that contains 11.3 Ma volcanic ash. The surface sample yields an apparent exposure age of only 0.4 Ma. However, measurements of the subsurface nuclide concentrations show that the deposit has not been shielded by ice, and that the age of the ash does not conflict with the apparent exposure age when slow degradation of the deposit (2 m Ma−1) is taken into account. Soil creep, which is a common degradational process in a wide variety of environments, is non-existent at this field site, which likely reflects the persistent lack of bio- and cryoturbation.

Keywords

DegradationErosionSediment transportCosmogenic isotopeDatingAntarcticaDry Valleys
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 69 , Issue 2 , March 2008 , pp. 242 - 249
Copyright
University of Washington

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

Balco, G., Stone, J.O.H., Jennings, C., (2005a). Dating Plio-Pleistocene glacial sediments using the cosmic-ray-produced radionuclides 10Be and 26Al. Science 305, 1–41.Google Scholar
Balco, G., Stone, J.O.H., Mason, J.A., (2005b). Numerical ages for Plio-Pleistocene glacial sediment sequences by 26Al/10Be dating of quartz in buried paleosols. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 232, 179–191.Google Scholar
Bierman, P.R., Albrecht, A., Bothner, M.H., Brown, E.T., Bullen, T.D., Gray, L.B., Turpin, L., (1998). Erosion, weathering, and sedimentation. Kendall, C., McDonnell, J., Isotope Tracers in Catchment Hydrology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands., .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bockheim, J.G., (2002). Landform and soil development in the McMurdo dry valleys, Antarctica: a regional synthesis. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 34, 308–317.Google Scholar
Brook, E.J., Kurz, M.D., Ackert, J.R.P., Denton, G.H., Brown, E.T., Raisbeck, G.M., Yiou, F., (1993). Chronology of Taylor Glacier advances in Arena Valley, Antarctica, using in situ cosmogenic 3He and 10Be. Quaternary Research 39, 11–23.Google Scholar
Brook, E.J., Kurz, M.D., Ackert, J.R.P., Raisbeck, G.M., Yiou, F., (1995). Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages and glacial history of Late Quaternary Ross Sea Drift in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 131, 41–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, E.T., Edmond, J.M., Raisbeck, G.M., Yiou, F., Kurz, M.D., Brook, E.J., (1991). Examination of surface exposure ages of Antarctic moraines using in situ produced 10Be and 26Al. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 55, 2269–2283.Google Scholar
Burbank, D.W., Blythe, A.E., Putkonen, J., Pratt-Sitaula, B., Gabet, E., Oskin, M., Barros, A., Ojha, T.P., (2003). Decoupling of erosion and precipitation in the Himalayas. Nature 426, 652–655.Google Scholar
Calkin, P.E., (1971). Glacial geology of the Victoria Valley system southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, Antarctic Snow and Ice Studies II 16, 363–412.Google Scholar
Enzel, Y., Amit, R., Porat, N., Zilberman, E., Harrison, B.J., (1996). Estimating the ages of fault scarps in the Arava, Israel. Tectonophysics 253, 305–317.Google Scholar
Fernandes, N.F., Dietrich, W.E., (1997). Hillslope evolution by diffusive processes: The timescale for equilibrium adjustments. Water Resources Research 33, 1307–1318.Google Scholar
Fountain, A.G., Lewis, K.J., Doran, P.T., (1999). Spatial climatic variation and its control on glacier equilibrium line altitude in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Global and Planetary Change 22, 1–10.Google Scholar
Gosse, J.C., Phillips, F.M., (2001). Terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides: theory and application. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, 1475–1560.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granger, D.E., Kirchner, J.W., Finkel, R.C., (1997). Quaternary downcutting rate of the New River, Virginia, measured from differential decay of cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be in cave-deposited alluvium. Geology 25, 107–110.Google Scholar
Granger, D.E., Fabel, D., Palmer, A.N., (2001). Pliocene-Pleistocene incision of the Green River, Kentucky, determined from radioactive decay of cosmogenic 26Al and 10Be in Mammoth Cave sediments. Geological Society of America Bulletin 113, 825–836.Google Scholar
Hall, B.L., Denton, G.H., Lux, D.R., Bockheim, J.G., (1993). Late Tertiary Antarctic paleoclimate and ice-sheet dynamics inferred from surficial deposits in Wright valley. Geografiska Annaler. Series A. Physical Geography 75, 239–267.Google Scholar
Hallet, B., Putkonen, J., (1994). Surface dating of dynamic landforms; young boulders on aging moraines. Science 265, 937–940.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hancock, G.S., Anderson, R.S., Chadwick, O.A., Finkel, R.C., (1999). Dating fluvial terraces with 10Be and 26Al profiles: application to the Wind River, Wyoming. Geomorphology 27, 41–60.Google Scholar
Hanks, T.C., (2000). The age of scarplike landforms from diffusion-equation analysis. Noller, J.S., Sowers, J.M., Lettis, W.R., Quaternary Geochronology Methods and Applications. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC., 582 AGU Reference Shelf.Google Scholar
Hanks, T.C., Bucknam, R.C., Lajoie, K.R., Wallace, R.E., (1984). Modification of wave-cut and faulting-controlled landforms. Journal of Geophysical.Research 89, 5771–5790.Google Scholar
Heimsath, A.M., Dietrich, W.E., Nishiizumi, K., Finkel, R.C., (1997). The soil production function and landscape equilibrium. Nature 388, .Google Scholar
Lal, D., (1987). Cosmogenic nuclides produced in situ in terrestrial solids. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B29, 238–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lal, D., (1991). Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: in situ nuclide production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104, 424–439.Google Scholar
Lancaster, N., (2002). Flux of eolian sediment in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: a preliminary assessment. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 34, 318–323.Google Scholar
Malin, M., (1985). Rates of geomorphic modification in ice-free areas of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Antarctic Journal of the United States 20, 18–21.Google Scholar
Malin, M., (1991). Short term variations in the rate of eolian processes, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Antarctic Journal of the United States 26, .Google Scholar
Marchant, D.R., Denton, G.H., Sugden, D.E., Swisher, C.C.I., (1993a). Miocene glacial stratigraphy and landscape evolution of the western Asgard Range, Antarctica. Geografiska Annaler. Series A: Physical Geography 75, 303–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marchant, D.R., Denton, G.H., Swisher, C.C.I., (1993b). Miocene–Pliocene–Pleistocene glacial history of Arena Valley, Quartermain Mountains, Antarctica. Geografiska Annaler. Series A: Physical Geography 75, 269–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marchant, D.R., Denton, G.H., Swisher, C.C.I., Potter, N.J., (1996). Late Cenozoic Antarctic paleoclimate reconstructed from volcanic ashes in the dry valleys region of southern Victoria Land. Geological Society of America Bulletin 108, 181–194.Google Scholar
Matsuoka, N., Moriwaki, K., (1992). Frost heave and creep in the Sør Rondane Mountains, Antarctica. Arctic and Alpine Research 24, 271–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nash, D.B., (1980). Forms of bluffs degraded for different lengths of time in Emmet County, Michigan, U.S.A. Earth Surface Processes 5, 331–345.Google Scholar
Nash, D.B., (1984). Morphological dating of fluvial terrace scarps and fault scarps near West Yellowstone, Montana. Geological Society of America Bulletin 95, 1413–1424.Google Scholar
Nichols, R.L., (1966). Geomorphology of Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series 1–46.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Kohl, C.P., Arnold, J.R., Dorn, R., Klein, J., Fink, D., Middleton, R., Lal, D., (1993). Role of in situ cosmogenic nuclides 10Be and 26Al in the study of diversed geomorphic processes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 18, 407–425.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Winterer, E.L., Kohl, C.P., Klein, J., Middleton, R., Lal, D., Arnold, J.R., (1989). Cosmic ray production rates of 10Be and 26Al in Quartz from glacially polished rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 94, 17907–17915.Google Scholar
Oehm, B., Hallet, B., (2005). Rates of soil creep, worldwide: weak climatic controls and potential feedback. Zeitchrift fur Geomorphologie 49, 353–372.Google Scholar
Putkonen, J., O'Neal, M.A., (2006). Degradation of unconsolidated Quaternary landforms in the western North America. Geomorphology 75, 408–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putkonen, J., Swanson, T., (2003). Accuracy of cosmogenic ages for moraines. Quaternary Research 59, 255–261.Google Scholar
Putkonen, J., Connolly, J., Orloff, T., in press-a. Landscape evolution degrades the geologic signature of past glaciations. Geomorphology. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2007.02.043.Google Scholar
Putkonen, J., Rosales, M., Turpen, N., Morgan, D., Balco, G., Donaldson, M., in press-b. Regolith transport in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. In: Cooper, A.K., Raymond, C.R., et al. (Eds.), Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World – Online Proceedings of the 10th ISAES. USGS Open-File Report 2007-1047, Short Research Paper 103,5p. doi:10.3133/of2007-1047.srp103.Google Scholar
Putkonen, J., Sletten, R.S., Hallet, B., (2003). Atmosphere/ice energy exchange through thin debris cover in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Phillips, M., Springman, S.M., Arenson, L.U., Eighth international conference on Permafrost, Zurich, Switzerland, July 21–25, 2003. Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, Davos., 913–915.,Switzerland (CHE), Zurich, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Repka, J.L., Anderson, R.S., Finkel, R.C., (1997). Cosmogenic dating of fluvial terraces, Fremont River, Utah. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 152, 59–73.Google Scholar
Rice, C.M., (1952). Dictionary of geological terms. Edwards Brothers, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan., .Google Scholar
Roering, J.J., Kirchner, J.W., Sklar, L.S., Dietrich, W.E., (2001). Hillslope evolution by nonlinear creep and landsliding: an experimental study. Geology 29, 143–146.Google Scholar
Schäfer, J., Ochs, S.I., Wieler, R., Leya, I., Baur, H., Denton, G.H., Schluechter, C., (1999). Cosmogenic noble gas studies in the oldest landscape on Earth; surface exposure ages of the dry valleys, Antarctica. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 167, 215–226.Google Scholar
Schäfer, J.M., Baur, H., Denton, G.H., Ivy-Ochs, S., Marchant, D.R., Schluchter, C., Wieler, R., (2000). The oldest ice on Earth in Beacon Valley, Antarctica: new evidence from surface exposure dating. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 91–99.Google Scholar
Stone, J.O., (2000). Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production. Journal of Geophysical Research 105, 23753–23759.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, J.O., (2004). Extraction of Al and Be from quartz for isotopic analysis. UW Cosmogenic Nuclide Lab Methods and Procedures Online: URL http://depts.washington.edu/cosmolab/chem.html.Google Scholar
Sugden, D.E., Marchant, D.R., Potter, N.J., Souchez, R.A., Denton, G.H., Swisherand, C.C.I., Tison, J.L., (1995). Preservation of Miocene glacier ice in East Antarctica. Nature 376, 412–414.Google Scholar
Summerfield, M.A., Stuart, F.M., Cockburn, H.A.P., Sugden, D.E., Denton, G.H., Dunai, T., Marchant, D.R., (1999a). Long-term rates of denudation in the Dry Valleys, Transantarctic Mountains, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica based on in-situ-produced cosmogenic 21Ne. Geomorphology 27, 113–129.Google Scholar
Summerfield, M.A., Sugden, D.E., Denton, G.H., Marchant, D.R., Cockburn, H.A.P., Stuart, F.M., (1999b). Cosmogenic isotope data support previous evidence of extremely low rates of denudation in the Dry Valleys region, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Geological Society Special Publications 162, 255–267.Google Scholar