Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 11
Cryosols and Earth-System Sciences
11.1
Introduction
Cryosols have been used extensively in glacial geomorphology, soil geomorphology,
archaeology, and paleopedology. In this chapter we examine the use of cryosols in
relative dating, correlation of glacial deposits, glacier dynamics, reconstruction of
past environments, existence of former occupation sites, and other uses.
11.2
Cryosols and Relative Dating
A soil chronosequence is an array of related soils in a geographic area that differs
primarily from the soil-forming factor, time; a chronofunction is the mathematical
solution of the relationship (Jenny
1941
):
()
Sft lorp
=
,,,
where the soil (S) and the properties that defi ne it are functions of time (t), with the
variables of climate (cl), organisms (o), relief (r), and parent material (p) remaining
relatively constant. Using data from 32 chronosequences from 27 areas contained
in the published literature, Bockheim (
1980
) showed that a single logarithmic
model,
Y
=
a
+
b
10
X
, yielded the highest correlation coeffi cients, when soil prop-
erty, (
Y
), was correlated with time, (
X
), using linear regression techniques. He later
sampled soils from 18 chronosequences in central and southern Victoria Land, 10
of which are in the MDVs (Fig.
11.1
). For all of the chronosequences, there were
highly signifi cant correlations between time and soil properties, including depths of
staining, maximum color development equivalence, visible salts, coherence, and
ghosts (Fig.
11.2
). Climate plays an interacting role in the slope of the regression
lines relating soil property to time. For example, the profi le accumulation of
