Soil development in the Quartermain Range and the
(2) the Coral Ridge sand body was deposited during a time of normal polarity of the Gauss epoch. Additional subsurface and surface geologic and paleomagnetic study, including study of sedimentary structures, is needed to resolve the foregoing problems that bear directly on the late Cenozoic glacial and structural history of Taylor Valley and environs. The Winkie drill and drill team of Garth Varcoe, James Jenkins, and Roy Parish were provided by the Antarctic Division, New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. U.S. Antarctic Research Program personnel included Michael E. Ahkeah, Stephen L. Bressler, Donald P. Elston, Christopher H. Hendy (Waikato University, New Zealand), and Paul H. Robinson (New Zealand Ministry of Works). This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant DPP 79-07253 and in part by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Soil development in the Quartermain Range and the Wright Upper Glacier region J . G. BOCKHEIM and S. C. WILSON Department of Soil Science University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706
During the 1980-81 field season, we examined soils at three locations in the Quartermain Range—upper Arena Valley, Beacon Valley, and an unnamed cirque north of Tabular Mountain (77°48'S 160°15'E)—and on Mount Fleming in the Wright Upper Glacier region (figure 1). The primary objectives of the study were (1) to use soils as relative-age indicators for studying the behavior of local alpine glaciers and the east antarctic ice sheet, and (2) to determine the nature, distribution, and origin of salts in soil profiles, snow, and ice in the McMurdo Sound area. Surface-boulder weathering features were recorded along line transects at 17 sites. Twenty-six soil descriptions were taken and 100 soil samples were collected for laboratory analysis, including ion chemistry of soil water extracts (Na, Ca2, Mg2 , K, NO -3 , Cl, SO, and 1), particle-size distribution, and clay mineralogy. Twelve samples of salt encrustations were obtained along the polar plateau for chemical and mineralogical characterization. Four samples of freshly fallen snow and 10 samples of glacial ice were collected for chemical analysis, melted, and shipped frozen in plastic bottles sealed with paraffin. We report the following field observations. Strongly developed soils with deep sola (30 centimeters) and salt pans were sampled on dolerite-sandstone drift within 50 meters of the surface of the east antarctic ice sheet at the unnamed cirque and along the Wright Upper Glacier at Mount Fleming (figure 2). These soils resemble those derived from the Prospect Formation in Wright Valley and the Asgard Range (Bockheim 1981 REVIEW
References Denton, C. H., Armstrong, R. L., and Stuiver, M. 1971. The late Cenozoic glacial history of Antarctica. In K. K. Turekian (Ed.), The late Cenozoic glacial ages. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Elston, D. P., and Bressler, S. L. In press. Magnetic stratigraphy of DVDP drill cores and late Cenozoic history of Taylor Valley, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. In L. D. McGinnis (Ed.), Dry Valley Drilling Project, AGU, Antarctic Research Series, 33. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. Purucker, M. E., Elston, D. P., and Bressler, S. L. In press. Magnetic stratigraphy of late Cenozoic glaciogenic sediments from drill cores, Taylor Valley, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. In L. D. McGinnis (Ed.), Dry Valley Drilling Project, AGU Antarctic Research Series, 33. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. Stuiver, M., Denton, C. H., and Borns, H. W. 1976. Carbon-14 dates of Adamussium colbecki (mollusca) in marine deposits at New Harbor, Taylor Valley. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 11(2), 86-88.
1979), which may be of Miocene age (Vucetich and Topping 1972). These data suggest that the elevation of the east antarctic ice sheet has not changed significantly in the upper Taylor and Wright Valleys region in approximately the past 7-10 million years. Soil chronosequences were identified and sampled in upper Arena Valley, Beacon Valley, and on Mount Fleming. Defined as arrays of soils that differ primarily as a result of the soilforming factor, time, soil chronosquences are useful for relative-age dating, correlating glacial deposits in Antarctica, and comparing rates of soil formation in cold deserts with those in hot deserts. The chronosequences contain member soils that range in age from 3,100 to possibly 7-10 million years. Within each of the chronosequences identified, surface-boulder fre-
Wright Uper Glacier IW. Fleming Beacon V it
04 Valley
EAST ANTARCTIC ' SHEET
AREA
WE
9OE SCALE (KILOMETERS)
Figure 1. Location of areas for sampling soils and salt encrustations (X) and snow and ice (0), and distribution of salts in soils.
41
within 50 kilometers of the coast, predominant ions in soilwater extracts are Nal and Cl-. Ratios of these ions and others are similar to those calculated from antarctic seawater analysis. Since they occur in soils not having been influenced by marine incursions, the salts are of marine-aerosol origin. At elevations above 1,500 meters and/or distances greater than 100 kilometers from the open sea, soils contain dominantly Na and NO-3 . Several investigators (Parker et al. 1977; Wilson and House 1965) have shown that the nitrate is contained in snow falling on the polar plateau. This snow subsequently is blown by katabatic winds for distances exceeding 1,000 kilometers to ice-free areas in the Transantarctjc Mountains, where it sublimes, leating a residue of salts. In a third zone, intermediate in elevation and distance from the open sea, Na or Ca 2+ and SO are prevalent. The sulfate may be partially of marineaerosol origin and partially from polar snow (Sulek et al. 1979). Concentrations of ions possibly contributed by rock weathering (Ca 2+, Mg2 , and K) are low compared with those brought in by precipitation. Therefore, the chemistry of cold desert soils in Antarctica is influenced more by precipitation than by chemical weathering (Bockheim 1981). This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 78-23832 to George H. Denton. We appreciate his assistance as well as that of J. Vanden Brook, H. Conway, and M. Dagel. We also are grateful for the logistic support provided by the VXE-6 helicopter crew. References
Figure 2. Soil profile on Prospect drift at Mount Fleming showing salts and deep oxidation.
quency declines with age of the deposit, and the number of boulders that are fragmented in situ (boulder shadows), yentifacted, planed to the surface, pitted, and fractured increases with time. Morphologic features increasing with time include solum thickness, depths of ghosts and visible salts, salt morphogenetic stage, and depth to ice-cemented frost table. To date, more than 1,000 soils and salt encrustations have been analyzed for water-soluble salts. A regional picture of salt distribution is evolving for the McMurdo Sound region which relates to precipitation patterns (figure 1). In areas
A partial geochemical analysis of the Onyx River WILLIAM J . GREENand DONALD E. CANFIELD School of interdisciplinary Studies Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056
While Lake Vanda has been the subject of several geochemical (e.g., Angino, Armitage, and Tash 1965; Jones and Faure 42
Bockheim, J . G. 1979. Relative age and origin of soils in eastern Wright Valley, Antarctica. Soil Science, 128, 142-152. Bockheim, J . C. 1981. Soil development in cold deserts of Antarctica. Paper presented at the International Conference on Aridic Soils, Jerusalem, 29 March-4 April 1981. (Abstract) Parker, B. C., Zeller, E. J . , Heiskell, L. E., and Thompson, W. J . 1977. Nitrogenous chemical composition of South Polar ice and snow as a potential tool for measurement of past solar auroral and cosmic ray activities. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 12, 133-134. Sulek, A. M., Cunningham, W. C., Anderson, D. L., Failey, M. P., Zoller, W. H., Mosher, B., Weisel, C., and Duce, R. A. 1979. Atmospheric chemistry at South Pole. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 14, 194-195. Vucetich, C. G., and Topping, W. W. 1972. A fiord origin for the pecten deposits, Wright Valley. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 15, 660-673. Wilson, A. T., and House, D. A. 1965. Chemical composition of South Polar snow. Journal of Geophysical Research, 70, 5515-5518.
1969) and biological investigations (e.g., Benoit, Hatcher, and Green 1971) over the past two decades, little attention has been given to the lake's major feeder stream, the Onyx River. As part of a study that focuses on the transport, speciation, and fate of biologically important trace metals and nutrients in the Vanda-Onyx system, we have had an opportunity to determine a number of chemical constituents in the river under a range of flow conditions. The Onyx originates at the Wright Lower Glacier, at the eastern end of Wright Valley, and flows some 27 kilometers westward (away from the sea) into Lake Vanda. Along its course, depending on temperature, it may be fed by tributary streams derived from several smaller glaciers occupying hangANTARCTIC JOURNAL
Soil development in the Quartermain Range and the Wright Upper Glacier region J . G. BOCKHEIM and S. C. WILSON Department of Soil Science University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706
During the 1980-81 field season, we examined soils at three locations in the Quartermain Range—upper Arena Valley, Beacon Valley, and an unnamed cirque north of Tabular Mountain (77°48'S 160°15'E)—and on Mount Fleming in the Wright Upper Glacier region (figure 1). The primary objectives of the study were (1) to use soils as relative-age indicators for studying the behavior of local alpine glaciers and the east antarctic ice sheet, and (2) to determine the nature, distribution, and origin of salts in soil profiles, snow, and ice in the McMurdo Sound area. Surface-boulder weathering features were recorded along line transects at 17 sites. Twenty-six soil descriptions were taken and 100 soil samples were collected for laboratory analysis, including ion chemistry of soil water extracts (Na, Ca2, Mg2 , K, NO -3 , Cl, SO, and 1), particle-size distribution, and clay mineralogy. Twelve samples of salt encrustations were obtained along the polar plateau for chemical and mineralogical characterization. Four samples of freshly fallen snow and 10 samples of glacial ice were collected for chemical analysis, melted, and shipped frozen in plastic bottles sealed with paraffin. We report the following field observations. Strongly developed soils with deep sola (30 centimeters) and salt pans were sampled on dolerite-sandstone drift within 50 meters of the surface of the east antarctic ice sheet at the unnamed cirque and along the Wright Upper Glacier at Mount Fleming (figure 2). These soils resemble those derived from the Prospect Formation in Wright Valley and the Asgard Range (Bockheim 1981 REVIEW
References Denton, C. H., Armstrong, R. L., and Stuiver, M. 1971. The late Cenozoic glacial history of Antarctica. In K. K. Turekian (Ed.), The late Cenozoic glacial ages. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Elston, D. P., and Bressler, S. L. In press. Magnetic stratigraphy of DVDP drill cores and late Cenozoic history of Taylor Valley, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. In L. D. McGinnis (Ed.), Dry Valley Drilling Project, AGU, Antarctic Research Series, 33. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. Purucker, M. E., Elston, D. P., and Bressler, S. L. In press. Magnetic stratigraphy of late Cenozoic glaciogenic sediments from drill cores, Taylor Valley, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. In L. D. McGinnis (Ed.), Dry Valley Drilling Project, AGU Antarctic Research Series, 33. Washington, D.C.: American Geophysical Union. Stuiver, M., Denton, C. H., and Borns, H. W. 1976. Carbon-14 dates of Adamussium colbecki (mollusca) in marine deposits at New Harbor, Taylor Valley. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 11(2), 86-88.
1979), which may be of Miocene age (Vucetich and Topping 1972). These data suggest that the elevation of the east antarctic ice sheet has not changed significantly in the upper Taylor and Wright Valleys region in approximately the past 7-10 million years. Soil chronosequences were identified and sampled in upper Arena Valley, Beacon Valley, and on Mount Fleming. Defined as arrays of soils that differ primarily as a result of the soilforming factor, time, soil chronosquences are useful for relative-age dating, correlating glacial deposits in Antarctica, and comparing rates of soil formation in cold deserts with those in hot deserts. The chronosequences contain member soils that range in age from 3,100 to possibly 7-10 million years. Within each of the chronosequences identified, surface-boulder fre-
Wright Uper Glacier IW. Fleming Beacon V it
04 Valley
EAST ANTARCTIC ' SHEET
AREA
WE
9OE SCALE (KILOMETERS)
Figure 1. Location of areas for sampling soils and salt encrustations (X) and snow and ice (0), and distribution of salts in soils.
41
within 50 kilometers of the coast, predominant ions in soilwater extracts are Nal and Cl-. Ratios of these ions and others are similar to those calculated from antarctic seawater analysis. Since they occur in soils not having been influenced by marine incursions, the salts are of marine-aerosol origin. At elevations above 1,500 meters and/or distances greater than 100 kilometers from the open sea, soils contain dominantly Na and NO-3 . Several investigators (Parker et al. 1977; Wilson and House 1965) have shown that the nitrate is contained in snow falling on the polar plateau. This snow subsequently is blown by katabatic winds for distances exceeding 1,000 kilometers to ice-free areas in the Transantarctjc Mountains, where it sublimes, leating a residue of salts. In a third zone, intermediate in elevation and distance from the open sea, Na or Ca 2+ and SO are prevalent. The sulfate may be partially of marineaerosol origin and partially from polar snow (Sulek et al. 1979). Concentrations of ions possibly contributed by rock weathering (Ca 2+, Mg2 , and K) are low compared with those brought in by precipitation. Therefore, the chemistry of cold desert soils in Antarctica is influenced more by precipitation than by chemical weathering (Bockheim 1981). This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant DPP 78-23832 to George H. Denton. We appreciate his assistance as well as that of J. Vanden Brook, H. Conway, and M. Dagel. We also are grateful for the logistic support provided by the VXE-6 helicopter crew. References
Figure 2. Soil profile on Prospect drift at Mount Fleming showing salts and deep oxidation.
quency declines with age of the deposit, and the number of boulders that are fragmented in situ (boulder shadows), yentifacted, planed to the surface, pitted, and fractured increases with time. Morphologic features increasing with time include solum thickness, depths of ghosts and visible salts, salt morphogenetic stage, and depth to ice-cemented frost table. To date, more than 1,000 soils and salt encrustations have been analyzed for water-soluble salts. A regional picture of salt distribution is evolving for the McMurdo Sound region which relates to precipitation patterns (figure 1). In areas
A partial geochemical analysis of the Onyx River WILLIAM J . GREENand DONALD E. CANFIELD School of interdisciplinary Studies Miami University Oxford, Ohio 45056
While Lake Vanda has been the subject of several geochemical (e.g., Angino, Armitage, and Tash 1965; Jones and Faure 42
Bockheim, J . G. 1979. Relative age and origin of soils in eastern Wright Valley, Antarctica. Soil Science, 128, 142-152. Bockheim, J . C. 1981. Soil development in cold deserts of Antarctica. Paper presented at the International Conference on Aridic Soils, Jerusalem, 29 March-4 April 1981. (Abstract) Parker, B. C., Zeller, E. J . , Heiskell, L. E., and Thompson, W. J . 1977. Nitrogenous chemical composition of South Polar ice and snow as a potential tool for measurement of past solar auroral and cosmic ray activities. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 12, 133-134. Sulek, A. M., Cunningham, W. C., Anderson, D. L., Failey, M. P., Zoller, W. H., Mosher, B., Weisel, C., and Duce, R. A. 1979. Atmospheric chemistry at South Pole. Antarctic Journal of the U.S., 14, 194-195. Vucetich, C. G., and Topping, W. W. 1972. A fiord origin for the pecten deposits, Wright Valley. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 15, 660-673. Wilson, A. T., and House, D. A. 1965. Chemical composition of South Polar snow. Journal of Geophysical Research, 70, 5515-5518.
1969) and biological investigations (e.g., Benoit, Hatcher, and Green 1971) over the past two decades, little attention has been given to the lake's major feeder stream, the Onyx River. As part of a study that focuses on the transport, speciation, and fate of biologically important trace metals and nutrients in the Vanda-Onyx system, we have had an opportunity to determine a number of chemical constituents in the river under a range of flow conditions. The Onyx originates at the Wright Lower Glacier, at the eastern end of Wright Valley, and flows some 27 kilometers westward (away from the sea) into Lake Vanda. Along its course, depending on temperature, it may be fed by tributary streams derived from several smaller glaciers occupying hangANTARCTIC JOURNAL
