Testing the potential of using coarse-grain feldspars for post-IR IRSL dating of calcium sulphate-wedge growth in the Atacama Desert

Zinelabedin, Aline; Riedesel, Svenja; Reimann, Tony; Ritter, Benedikt; Dunai, Tibor J.

doi:10.1016/j.quageo.2022.101341

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Similarly, the patchy formation of salt efflorescence suggests that brine migration within the sand wedge is also not homogeneous. Given rare rain events, such brine migration would be cyclic over longer time periods and could explain the reported minimal cementation of sand wedges in the vicinity (Sager et al, 2021), but also contribute to the reported major cementation of sulfate wedges north of the study area (Zinelabedin et al, 2022). Both subsurface units remained moist throughout the experiment, and it remains unclear if either the soil column of the polygon or sand wedge dries out more quickly, but the presence of hygroscopic salts and cementing sulfates that reduce permeability in the polygons suggest, that ultimately the polygons have a higher water retention potential than the sand wedges.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Habitability of Polygonal Soils in the Hyper‐Arid Atacama Desert After a Simulated Rain Experiment

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The hyper-arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the oldest and driest deserts on Earth, challenging the activity of microbial life due to extremely limited water availability, oxidizing conditions, high ultraviolet radiation, and high soil salinity (Houston & Hartley, 2003;Navarro-González et al., 2003). These harsh conditions result from the extreme aridity caused by the rain shadow effect of the pre-Cordillera and Andean mountains in eastern Chile and the cold Humboldt current along the Chilean coast, which creates an inversion layer largely preventing the formation of clouds (Houston & Hartley, 2003

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Habitability of Polygonal Soils in the Hyper‐Arid Atacama Desert After a Simulated Rain Experiment

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Jordan et al, 2014). Zinelabedin et al (2022) presented a first approach to applying feldspar luminescence dating to a calcium sulphate wedge from the Aroma fan outcrop. The widespread equivalent dose distribution likely appeared to indicate several phases of wedge growth and a recent wedge growth activity during the Holocene-Pleistocene boundary, derived from a minimum age model (Zinelabedin et al, 2022).…”

Section: Implications Of Palaeoclimate and Environmental Conditions D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zinelabedin et al (2022) presented a first approach to applying feldspar luminescence dating to a calcium sulphate wedge from the Aroma fan outcrop. The widespread equivalent dose distribution likely appeared to indicate several phases of wedge growth and a recent wedge growth activity during the Holocene-Pleistocene boundary, derived from a minimum age model (Zinelabedin et al, 2022). The timing of the last wedge growth activity described by the authors would coincide with the Central Andean Pluvial Event (CAPE) at 13.8-8.5 ka (CAPE II;de Porras et al, 2017) potentially providing sufficient moisture to (re)activate haloturbation processes and wedge formation.…”

Section: Implications Of Palaeoclimate and Environmental Conditions D...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Haloturbation in the northern Atacama Desert revealed by a hidden subsurface network of calcium sulphate wedges

Zinelabedin,

Mohren,

Wierzbicka-Wieczorek

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. While the formation of periglacial wedges and polygonal patterned grounds has been extensively studied and many of the processes involved have been understood, knowledge on the formation of similar post-sedimentary features found in arid to hyperarid environments remains largely rudimentary. Our contribution to fill this gap is the investigation of a network of vertically laminated calcium sulphate-rich wedges in the subsurface of the Aroma fan in the northern Atacama Desert. The subsurface wedges are characterised by high anhydrite contents and hence differ from the wedge and polygon structures of other study sites in the Atacama Desert, which appear to have been predominantly formed by thermal contraction or desiccation processes. By contrast, haloturbation mechanisms are thought to be a main driver of wedge formation at the Aroma fan site. Haloturbation requires moisture input, and hence Aroma fan wedge formation is likely to be associated with meteoric water received from sporadic rain events and episodes of arid climate characterised by slightly wetter conditions than prevailing at present. The polygonal patterned ground is covered by a stratigraphically younger gypsum-dominated surface crust cover. The presence of the surface crust could indicate an environmental change towards drier conditions, which favoured surface accumulation of calcium sulphate and other salts by means of atmospheric deposition. Such a climatic shift could have caused a deceleration of haloturbation and other wedge formation processes in the subsurface, although modern sediment conveyance from the surface towards its interior still appears to occur along cracks within the crust. In order to gain comprehensive insights into the complex mechanisms involved in wedge formation and formation rates, the establishment of a geochronological framework directly obtained from wedge and crust material remains indispensable. The temporal resolution of wedge growth stored within the succession of vertical laminae promises a high potential for the calcium sulphate wedges to be used as palaeoclimate archives, potentially helping to unravel wedge and polygonal patterned ground formation in other water-limited environments, such as Mars.

show abstract

“…Carbonate as cement in this kind of hyperarid soil can be excluded as dominant ingredient, as ‘its formation is not chemically favoured in this hyperarid setting’ 32 . CaSO 4 -wedges 9 , 11 , 55 (‘sand wedges’ 56 ) and pressure regimes inside the soil due to dissolution and recrystallization may cause fracturing, similar to ignimbrites/bedrock, which promotes incision and channel formation, reflecting similar bedrock characteristics. Due to limited outcrop situation, we cannot fully exclude that cohesion or partly cementation of alluvial deposits additionally caused increased shear strength.…”

Section: Caso 4 -Rich Soil As Landscape Forming Agentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of CaSO4-rich soil on Miocene surface preservation and Quaternary sinuous to meandering channel forms in the hyperarid Atacama Desert

Ritter

Diederich-Leicher

Binnie

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Atacama Desert is the driest and oldest desert on Earth. Despite the abundance evidence for long-term landscape stability, there are subtle signs of localised fluvial erosion and deposition since the onset of hyperaridity in the rock record. In the dry core of the Atacama Desert, pluvial episodes allowed antecedent drainage to incise into uplifting fault scarps, which in turn generated sinuous to meandering channels. Incision of ancient alluvial fan surfaces occurred during intermittent fluvial periods, albeit without signs of surface erosion. Fluvial incision during predominantly hyperarid climate periods is evident from these channels in unconsolidated alluvium. The absence of dense vegetation to provide bank stability and strength led us to investigate the potential role of regionally ubiquitous CaSO4-rich surface cover. This has enabled the preservation of Miocene surfaces and we hypothesize that it provided the required bank stability by adding strength to the upper decimetre to meter of incised alluvium to allow high sinuosity of stream channels to form during pluvial episodes in the Quaternary.

show abstract

Testing the potential of using coarse-grain feldspars for post-IR IRSL dating of calcium sulphate-wedge growth in the Atacama Desert

Cited by 5 publications

References 52 publications

Habitability of Polygonal Soils in the Hyper‐Arid Atacama Desert After a Simulated Rain Experiment

Habitability of Polygonal Soils in the Hyper‐Arid Atacama Desert After a Simulated Rain Experiment

Haloturbation in the northern Atacama Desert revealed by a hidden subsurface network of calcium sulphate wedges

Impact of CaSO4-rich soil on Miocene surface preservation and Quaternary sinuous to meandering channel forms in the hyperarid Atacama Desert

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About