To evaluate the role of Antarctic aeolian transport in surface chemistry homogenization, fifty-three samples of aeolian material from the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica were collected and analyzed for water-soluble major ions and nutrients at a 1:5 sediment:water ratio. Samples were collected seasonally from Alatna Valley, Victoria Valley, Miers Valley, and Taylor Valley (Taylor Glacier, East Lake Bonney, F6 (Lake Fryxell), and Explorer’s Cove) at five heights (~5, 10, 20, 50, 100 cm) above the surface between 2013 and 2015.
Dataset Results
2013-01-15 to 2016-01-14
10.6073/pasta/6e55031fc79fa3cc6305ff318522b775
5000
Mineral apatite is the ultimate source of the essential nutrient phosphorus to the soil ecosystem. In order to assess the biogeochemical weathering of apatite grains in the dry, basic soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, we collected nine surface soil samples from the Fryxell and Bonney Basins of Taylor Valley. After separating more than 50 individual soil apatite grains from each sample, we used scanning electron microscopy to quantify the morphology and surface etching of apatite grains to determine the degree of weathering.
Date Range:
2013-01-18 to 2013-01-21
Data sources:
Dataset ID:
261