Impact of parent material, vegetation cover, and site wetness on variability of soil properties in proglacial areas of small glaciers along the northeastern coast of Sørkappland (SE Spitsbergen)

Szymański, Wojciech; Maciejowski, Wojciech; Ostafin, Krzysztof; Ziaja, Wiesław; Sobucki, Mateusz

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2019.104209

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…This stands in contrast with the western coast, where the West Spitsbergen Current brings warmer waters (due to its connection with the Gulf Stream) flowing from the south, restricting the duration of sea ice cover to a shorter temporal period [29,30]. These climatic differences are also well reflected in the presence of vegetation cover on the western coast compared to the eastern coast which has minimal vegetation (see Figure 1c) [31]. Such climatic characteristics result in the presence of vast ice caps and numerous glaciers which are marine terminating, making tidewater glaciers the prevalent glacier type on the east coast of Svalbard.…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 98%

Fifty Years of Tidewater Glacier Surface Elevation and Retreat Dynamics along the South-East Coast of Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago)

et al. 2022

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Tidewater glaciers on the east coast of Svalbard were examined for surface elevation changes and retreat rate. An archival digital elevation model (DEM) from 1970 (generated from aerial images by the Norwegian Polar Institute) in combination with recent ArcticDEM were used to compare the surface elevation changes of eleven glaciers. This approach was complemented by a retreat rate estimation based on the analysis of Landsat and Sentinel-2 images. In total, four of the 11 tidewater glaciers became land-based due to the retreat of their termini. The remaining tidewater glaciers retreated at an average annual retreat rate of 48 m year−1, and with range between 10–150 m year−1. All the glaciers studied experienced thinning in their frontal zones with maximum surface elevation loss exceeding 100 m in the ablation areas of three glaciers. In contrast to the massive retreat and thinning of the frontal zones, a minor increase in ice thickness was recorded in some accumulation areas of the glaciers, exceeding 10 m on three glaciers. The change in glacier geometry suggests an important shift in glacier dynamics over the last 50 years, which very likely reflects the overall trend of increasing air temperatures. Such changes in glacier geometry are common at surging glaciers in their quiescent phase. Surging was detected on two glaciers studied, and was documented by the glacier front readvance and massive surface thinning in high elevated areas.

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Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 98%

Fifty Years of Tidewater Glacier Surface Elevation and Retreat Dynamics along the South-East Coast of Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago)

et al. 2022

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“…The absence of rock fragments at sites 3 and 4 covered with Arctic meadow was caused by the location of these profiles on the floor of the Adventelva river valley, which was covered with a thick layer of aeolian deposits shielding glaciofluvial and fluvial sediments (Bryant 1982). The high content of coarse rock fragments is typical of soils elsewhere in Svalbard, e.g., Kaffiöyra (Pilchta 1993), Bellsund (Klimowicz et al 1999), Calypsostranda (Świtoniak et al 2014), Sørkappland (Szymański et al 2019a), and Hornsund (Szymański et al 2015). Soil profiles at sites 1 and 2, found under pioneer tundra, exhibited a very initial and poorly developed A horizon (site 1) or only an AC horizon (site 2) (Table 1).…”

Section: Results and Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polish Polar Research

Bartos,

Szymański,

Gus-Stolarczyk

2022

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The main aim of this study was to determine the morphology, physical, and chemical properties of permafrost-affected soils under different types of tundra in the central part of Spitsbergen. This is a preliminary part of detailed studies focused on the relationship between tundra vegetation and permafrost-affected soils in the Spitsbergen. The obtained results indicate that all the studied soils represent an early stage of formation and the main soil-forming process present in these soils is cryoturbation. Most of the studied soils are shallow and contain a high content of coarse rock fragments. Tundra vegetation type plays controlling role in the development and structure of surface soil horizons. All the studied soils are characterized by loamy texture and acidic or slightly acidic reaction, and these properties are not very different under various tundra vegetation types. The contents of soil organic matter are strongly dependent on the type of tundra vegetation. The highest soil organic matter content occurs at sites with well-developed vegetation such as heath and wet moss tundra. The high carbon-to-nitrogen ratio for the surface soil horizons of the majority of the studied soils indicates that organic matter is poorly decomposed under all the studied tundra vegetation types. This is most likely related to low activity of soil microorganisms in the harsh High Arctic environment. However, the lowest carbon-to-nitrogen ratio was noted for surface soil horizons at sites covered with Arctic meadow, and this indicates that there occur the optimum conditions for soil organic matter decomposition.

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“…In addition, hA and hC of soil profiles HP-7 and HP-9 are clearly distinguished for (Lee et al 2004;Navas et al 2008Navas et al , 2018. However, the HP-7 and HP-9 outliers indicate that the variability of soil properties is not only related to the parent material (Szymański et al 2019).…”

Section: Pca Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemistry of Antarctic periglacial soils from Harmony Point, Nelson Island

et al. 2021

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Little is known about the geochemical baseline of Antarctic soils in different environments. We investigated the soil geochemistry of the two main landscape units of Harmony Point (Nelson Island, Maritime Antarctica): the coastal domain and the upper platform. Fourteen soil samples (seven in each landscape unit) were divided according to depth (hA for surface and hC for subsurface horizons) and characterized by their major, trace elements and REE concentrations. The concentration of major elements (SiO 2 , TiO 2 , Al 2 O3, Fe 2 O 3 , MgO, CaO, MnO, and K 2 O) were determined by X-ray fluorescence, whereas trace elements were quantified by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (Co, Ni, As, Cd, Pb, Ba, Cr, Cu, V, Zn, and Zr) and REE by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results showed geochemical variation with depth, either related to pedological processes (phosphatization, humification, podzolization, and cryoturbation), and parent material constitution (andesitic basalt in upper platform and mixed volcanic sediments in coastal domain). The main chemical aspects distinguishing Harmony Point soils from other Maritime Antarctic soils from the vicinity are: (i) higher CIA index; (ii) P 2 O 5 enrichment due to bird guano and enhanced pedogenesis; (iii) REE retention; (iv) enrichment in Fe 2 O 3 and S concentrations. The REE concentration was influenced by weathering processes combined with allochthonous inputs, such as volcanic ashes and iceberg-transported granitic boulders at the coastal domain. The Harmony Point soils are little subjected to anthropic impacts, so they can be used as a basis for environmental monitoring programs in the Maritime Antarctica region.

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Impact of parent material, vegetation cover, and site wetness on variability of soil properties in proglacial areas of small glaciers along the northeastern coast of Sørkappland (SE Spitsbergen)

Cited by 12 publications

References 67 publications

Fifty Years of Tidewater Glacier Surface Elevation and Retreat Dynamics along the South-East Coast of Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago)

Fifty Years of Tidewater Glacier Surface Elevation and Retreat Dynamics along the South-East Coast of Spitsbergen (Svalbard Archipelago)

Polish Polar Research

Geochemistry of Antarctic periglacial soils from Harmony Point, Nelson Island

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