RELATIVE AGE AND ORIGIN OF SOILS IN EASTERN WRIGHT VALLEY, ANTARCTICA

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Abstract
Soils on moraines deposited by the Wright Lower Glacier were differentiated on the basis of weathering features of surface boulders, soil morphology, and the amount of water-soluble salts. Soils ranked from youngest to oldest include those on Wright Lower, Trilogy, Loop, C and D end moraines. The following properties increase with soil age: reciprocal of frequency of upstanding boulders and the percentage of boulders weathered in place on moraine crests; depths of oxidation, ghosts, salt encrustations and slightly coherent consistence and depth to ice cement in soil profiles; electrical conductivity, cations (Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+) and anions (Cl-, SO42-) in 1:5 soil:water extracts from the horizon of maximum salt content; and silt and clay in the B horizon. Soils were ordinated using indices of similarity. Relative ages of soils on Wright Lower, C and D moraines were estimated on the assumptions that Trilogy and Loop soils are 18,000 and approximately 135,000 yr B.P., respectively, and that soluble salts bear a linear relationship to soil age.

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