(Table 3) Age-related trends of desert pavement properties in the Transantarctic Mountains

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Auteur principal: Bockheim, James G
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Langue:en
Publié: PANGAEA 2010
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_version_ 1867168139507138560
author Bockheim, James G
author_facet Bockheim, James G
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents Compared to mid-latitude deserts, the properties, formation and evolution of desert pavements and the underlying vesicular layer in Antarctica are poorly understood. This study examines the desert pavements and the vesicular layer from seven soil chronosequences in the Transantarctic Mountains that have developed on two contrasting parent materials: sandstone-dolerite and granite-gneiss. The pavement density commonly ranges from 63 to 92% with a median value of 80% and does not vary significantly with time of exposure or parent material composition. The dominant size range of clasts decreases with time of exposure, ranging from 16-64 mm on Holocene and late Quaternary surfaces to 8-16 mm on surfaces of middle Quaternary and older age. The proportion of clasts with ventifaction increases progressively through time from 20% on drifts of Holocene and late Quaternary age to 35% on Miocene-aged drifts. Desert varnish forms rapidly, especially on dolerite clasts, with nearly 100% cover on surfaces of early Quaternary and older age. Macropitting occurs only on clasts that have been exposed since the Miocene. A pavement development index, based on predominant clast-size class, pavement density, and the proportion of clasts with ventifaction, varnish, and pits, readily differentiated pavements according to relative age. From these findings we judge that desert pavements initially form from a surficial concentration of boulders during till deposition followed by a short period of deflation and a longer period of progressive chemical and physical weathering of surface clasts. The vesicular layer that underlies the desert pavement averages 4 cm in thickness and is enriched in silt, which is contributed primarily by weathering rather than eolian deposition. A comparison is made between desert pavement properties in mid-latitude deserts and Antarctic deserts.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_807589
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2010
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle (Table 3) Age-related trends of desert pavement properties in the Transantarctic Mountains
Bockheim, James G
Area/locality; Arena_valley; Beacon_Valley; Beardmore_glacier; Boulder; Cobble; Crystal size; Depth, relative; Description; Desert pavement, density; Epoch; Event label; HAND; Hatherton_glacier; Index; International Polar Year (2007-2008); IPY; Latitude of event; Layer thickness; Longitude of event; Macropitting; Parameter; Pebble; Ratio; Ross Sea Region, Antarctica; Sampling by hand; Taylor_valley; Transantarctic Mountains; Varnish; Ventifacts; WrightValley
Compared to mid-latitude deserts, the properties, formation and evolution of desert pavements and the underlying vesicular layer in Antarctica are poorly understood. This study examines the desert pavements and the vesicular layer from seven soil chronosequences in the Transantarctic Mountains that have developed on two contrasting parent materials: sandstone-dolerite and granite-gneiss. The pavement density commonly ranges from 63 to 92% with a median value of 80% and does not vary significantly with time of exposure or parent material composition. The dominant size range of clasts decreases with time of exposure, ranging from 16-64 mm on Holocene and late Quaternary surfaces to 8-16 mm on surfaces of middle Quaternary and older age. The proportion of clasts with ventifaction increases progressively through time from 20% on drifts of Holocene and late Quaternary age to 35% on Miocene-aged drifts. Desert varnish forms rapidly, especially on dolerite clasts, with nearly 100% cover on surfaces of early Quaternary and older age. Macropitting occurs only on clasts that have been exposed since the Miocene. A pavement development index, based on predominant clast-size class, pavement density, and the proportion of clasts with ventifaction, varnish, and pits, readily differentiated pavements according to relative age. From these findings we judge that desert pavements initially form from a surficial concentration of boulders during till deposition followed by a short period of deflation and a longer period of progressive chemical and physical weathering of surface clasts. The vesicular layer that underlies the desert pavement averages 4 cm in thickness and is enriched in silt, which is contributed primarily by weathering rather than eolian deposition. A comparison is made between desert pavement properties in mid-latitude deserts and Antarctic deserts.
title (Table 3) Age-related trends of desert pavement properties in the Transantarctic Mountains
topic Area/locality; Arena_valley; Beacon_Valley; Beardmore_glacier; Boulder; Cobble; Crystal size; Depth, relative; Description; Desert pavement, density; Epoch; Event label; HAND; Hatherton_glacier; Index; International Polar Year (2007-2008); IPY; Latitude of event; Layer thickness; Longitude of event; Macropitting; Parameter; Pebble; Ratio; Ross Sea Region, Antarctica; Sampling by hand; Taylor_valley; Transantarctic Mountains; Varnish; Ventifacts; WrightValley
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.807589