Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T17:05:51.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Etching of Hornblende Grains in Arctic Soils: An Indicator of Relative Age and Paleoclimate

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

William W. Locke III
William W. Locke III*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences and Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The degree of etching of hornblende grains in soils is defined as the mean depth of maximum etching on 100 grains per sample and is a function of: (1) the depth in the profile; (2) the age of the deposit on which the soil is formed; and (3) the climate since deposition. In soils formed on moraines in the eastern Canadian Arctic, etching decreases logarithmically with increasing depth in the profile, and the rate of etching at a given depth decreases logarithmically with increasing age. The most important climatic parameter with respect to etching appears to be the effective precipitation. Equally important in terms of soil moisture regimen is the presence of unfrozen water. Both affect the rate of etching as a function of depth and age. The inferred climate of northern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada, preceding, during, and following the last (Foxe) glaciation, is indicated by the degree of etching of hornblende grains in soil profiles of various ages as follows: pre-Foxe—warm/wet; early to middle Foxe—mild/moist; middle to late Foxe—cold/arid; Hypsithermal—mild/moist; Neoglacial—cool/dry.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , March 1979 , pp. 197 - 212
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, D.M., Morgenstern, N.R., (1973). Physics, chemistry, and mechanics of frozen ground: A review. Permafrost: The North American Contribution to the Second International Conference. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., (1968). Late-Pleistocene history of the Isortoq valley, north-central Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Melanges de Geographie offerts à M. Omer Tulippe. 1, 118-133.Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., Funder, S., Hjort, C., Imbrie, J., (1974). Comparison of the glacial chronology of eastern Baffin Island, East Greenland, and the Camp Century accumulation core. Geology. 2, 355-358.Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., Szabo, B.J., Isherwood, W., (1975). Multiple tills, radiometric ages, and assessment of the Wisconsin glaciation in eastern Baffin Island: a progress report. Arctic and Alpine Research. 7, 39-60.Google Scholar
Birkeland, P.W., (1974) Pedology, Weathering, and Geomorphological Research. Oxford University Press, New York. Google Scholar
Birkeland, P.W., (1978). Using soils to date Quaternary deposits in eastern Baffin Island, N.W.T.. Arctic and Alpine Research. 10, 733-747.Google Scholar
Boyer, S.J., Pheasant, D.R., (1974). Weathering zones and former ice limits in eastern Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 85, 805-810.Google Scholar
Bradley, W.C., (1957). Origin of marine-terrace deposits in the Santa Cruz area, California. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 68, 421-444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, W.C., (1965). Marine terraces on Ben Lomond Mountain, California. Guidebook for Field Conference 1, Northern Great Basin and California. International Association for Quaternary Research VII Congress, Nebraska Academy of Science, Lincoln, Nebraska. .Google Scholar
Charlier, R.H., (1969). The geographic distribution of Polar Desert soils in the Northern Hemisphere. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 80, 1985-1996.Google Scholar
Dyke, A.S., (1977). Quaternary Geomorphology, Glacial Chronology, and Climatic and Sea Level History of Southwestern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Colorado, Boulder. Google Scholar
Feyling-Hanssen, R.W., (1975). The Clyde Foreland Formation: A micropaleontological study of Quaternary stratigraphy. 1st International Symposium on Benthonic Foraminifera of Continental Margins: Part B, Paleoecology and Biostratigraphy. Maritime Sediments Special Publication. 1, 315-377.Google Scholar
Feyling-Hanssen, R.W., (1976). A mid-Wisconsin interstadial on Broughton Island, Arctic Canada, and its foraminifera. Arctic and Alpine Research. 8, 161-182.Google Scholar
Hill, D.E., Tedrow, J.C.F., (1961). Weathering and soil formation in the arctic environment. American Journal of Science. 259, 84-101.Google Scholar
Isherwood, D.J., (1975). Soil Geochemistry and Rock Weathering in an Arctic Environment. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Colorado, Boulder. Google Scholar
Jackson, G.D., Taylor, F.C., (1972). Correlation of major Aphebian rock units in the northern Canadian Shield. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 9, 1650-1669.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, M.L., (1969) 2nd ed. Soil Chemical Analysis—Advanced Course. Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Published by the author.Google Scholar
Jenny, H., (1941) Factors of Soil Formation. McGraw-Hill, New York. Google Scholar
LaFleur, J., (1972) Etching of Pyroxene Grains in Soils of the Truckee River Drainage, California and Nevada. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Unpublished report.Google Scholar
Locke, C.W., Locke, W.W., (1977). Little Ice Age snowcover extent and paleoglaciation thresholds: North-central Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research. 9, 291-300.Google Scholar
Locke, W.W., (1976). Etching of Hornblende Grains as a Dating Criterion for Arctic Soils. Unpublished M.Sc. dissertation. University of Colorado, Boulder. Google Scholar
Mahaney, W.C., Fahey, B.D., (1976). Quaternary soil stratigraphy of the Front Range, Colorado. Mahaney, W.C., Quaternary Stratigraphy of North America. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsburg, Pa, 319-352.Google Scholar
McCelland, J.E., (1950). The effect of time, temperature, and particle size on the release of bases from some common soil forming minerals of different crystal structure. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings. 15, 301-307.Google Scholar
Miller, G.H., (1973). Late Quaternary glacial and climatic history of northern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Quaternary Research. 3, 561-583.Google Scholar
Miller, G.H., (1975). Quaternary Glacial and Climatic History of Northern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, with Particular Reference to Fluctuations during the Past 20,000 Years. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Colorado, Boulder. Google Scholar
Miller, G.H., Andrews, J.T., Short, S., (1977). The last interglacial/glacial cycle, Clyde Foreland, Baffin Island, N.W.T.: Stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and chronology. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 14, 2824-2857.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, G.H., Williams, L.D., (1974). Late Wisconsin paleoclimate derived from a snowmelt program and variations in glacier response: Eastern Baffin Island. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. 6, 870.Google Scholar
Nickel, E., (1973). Experimental dissolution of light and heavy minerals in comparison with weathering and interstratal solution. Contributions to Sedimentology. 1, 1-68.Google Scholar
Paterson, W.S.B., Koerner, R.M., Fisher, D., Johnson, S.J., Clausen, H.B., Dansgaard, W., Bucher, P., Oeschger, H., (1977). An oxygen-isotope record from the Devon Island ice cap, Arctic Canada. Nature (London). 266, 508-511.Google Scholar
Prest, 186.K., (1969). Retreat of Wisconsin and Recent ice in North America. Geological Survey of Canada Map 1257A. .Google Scholar
Ruhe, R.187., (1956). Geomorphic surfaces and the nature of soils. Soil Science. 82, 441-455.Google Scholar
Tedrow, J.C.F., (1966). Polar Desert soils. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings. 30, 381-387.Google Scholar
Tedrow, J.C.F., (1977) Soils of the Polar Landscapes. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, N. J. Google Scholar
Tedrow, J.C.F., Drew, J.188., Hill, D.E., Douglas, L.A., (1958). Major genetic soils of the arctic slope of Alaska. Journal of Soil Science. 9, 33-45.Google Scholar
Tedrow, J.C.F., Hill, D.E., (1955). Arctic Brown soil. Soil Science. 80, 265-275.Google Scholar
Ugolini, F.C., Tedrow, J.C.F., (1973). Ionic migration and weathering in frozen Antarctic soils. Soil Science. 115, 461-470.Google Scholar