The Soil Geochemistry in the Beardmore Glacier Region, Antarctica: Implications for Terrestrial Ecosystem History

Authors

William Berry Lyons, The Ohio State University
Kelly M. Deuerling, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
Kathleen A. Welch, The Ohio State University
Susan A. Welch, The Ohio State University
G. Michalski, Purdue University
W. W. Walters, Purdue University
U. Nielsen, Western Sydney University
D. H. Wall, Colorado State University
I. Hogg, University of Waikato, New Zealand
B. J. Adams, Brigham Young University

Author ORCID Identifier

Deuerling - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8825-0546

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-18-2016

Publication Title

Scientific Reports

Volume

6

Abstract

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.

Comments

This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

• DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26189

Recommended Citation

Lyons, William Berry; Deuerling, Kelly M.; Welch, Kathleen A.; Welch, Susan A.; Michalski, G.; Walters, W. W.; Nielsen, U.; Wall, D. H.; Hogg, I.; and Adams, B. J., "The Soil Geochemistry in the Beardmore Glacier Region, Antarctica: Implications for Terrestrial Ecosystem History" (2016). Geography and Geology Faculty Publications. 96.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/geoggeolfacpub/96

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.