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Causes and Characteristics of Electrical Resistivity Variability in Shallow (<4 m) Soils in Taylor Valley, East Antarctica

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift/Konferencebidrag i tidsskrift /Bidrag til avis › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

DOI

  • W. S. Gutterman, Louisiana State University
    • ,
  • P. T. Doran, Louisiana State University
    • ,
  • R. A. Virginia, Dartmouth College
    • ,
  • J. E. Barrett, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
    • ,
  • K. F. Myers, Louisiana State University
    • ,
  • S. M. Tulaczyk, University of California at Santa Cruz
    • ,
  • N. T. Foley, University of Montana
    • ,
  • J. A. Mikucki, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
    • ,
  • H. A. Dugan, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    • ,
  • D. J. Grombacher
  • T. S. Bording
  • E. Auken

Airborne electromagnetic surveys collected in December 2011 and November 2018 and three soil sampling transects were used to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of shallow (<4 m) soil properties in lower Taylor Valley (TV), East Antarctica. Soil resistivities from 2011 to 2018 ranged from ∼33 Ωm to ∼3,500 Ωm with 200 Ωm assigned as an upper boundary for brine-saturated sediments. Elevations below ∼50 m above sea level (masl) typically exhibit the lowest resistivities with resistivity increasing at high elevations on steeper slopes. Soil water content was empirically estimated from electrical resistivities using Archie's Law and range from ∼<1% to ∼68% by volume. An increase in silt- and clay-sized particles at low elevations increases soil porosity but decreases hydraulic conductivity, promoting greater residence times of soil water at low elevations near Lake Fryxell. Soil resistivity variability between 2011 and 2018 shows soils at different stages of soil freeze-thaw cycles, which are caused predominantly by solar warming of soils as opposed to air temperature. This study furthers the understanding of the hydrogeologic structure of the shallow subsurface in TV and identifies locations of soils that are potentially prone to greater rates of thaw and resulting ecosystem homogenization of soil properties from projected increases in hydrological connectivity across the region over the coming decades.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
Artikelnummere2022JF006696
TidsskriftJournal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface
Vol/bind128
Nummer2
ISSN2169-9003
DOI
StatusUdgivet - feb. 2023

Bibliografisk note

Funding Information:
This research is funded by the National Science Foundation Grant OPP-1637708 for the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research site and 1643536 (to PTD), 1644187 (to SMT), 1643687 (to JAM), and 1643775 (to RAV) for Antarctic Airborne ElectroMagnetics (ANTAEM). Logistical support was provided by the U.S. Antarctic Program through funding from the NSF. The authors thank the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research team members involved in collecting and processing meteorological data. The authors also want to acknowledge Michael Poage for his contributions to this study by assisting in collecting the soil transect samples and their analysis, and for providing valuable insight on the interpretation of geochemical patterns.

Funding Information:
This research is funded by the National Science Foundation Grant OPP‐1637708 for the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research site and 1643536 (to PTD), 1644187 (to SMT), 1643687 (to JAM), and 1643775 (to RAV) for Antarctic Airborne ElectroMagnetics (ANTAEM). Logistical support was provided by the U.S. Antarctic Program through funding from the NSF. The authors thank the McMurdo Long Term Ecological Research team members involved in collecting and processing meteorological data. The authors also want to acknowledge Michael Poage for his contributions to this study by assisting in collecting the soil transect samples and their analysis, and for providing valuable insight on the interpretation of geochemical patterns.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

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