Antarctic Permafrost Soils

Abstract

Antarctic soils and permafrost occur on the tiny portion of the continent that is ice-free and their properties vary widely due to appreciable differences in environmental conditions. The climate is harsh, varying from severe frigid and arid inland to more temperate coastal, while landscape ages range from Holocene to Miocene with a complex glacial history. With negligible occurrences of life forms, except in the Antarctic Peninsula region, the soils are predominantly characterized as Cold Desert Soils. Soil properties vary systematically in relation to differences in climate and land surface ages, as does the permafrost which ranges from predominantly ice-cemented in younger landscapes to ice-free or dry in older landscapes. In the coldest regions the whole soil may be perennially frozen. The main soil weathering processes are oxidation and salinization which persist at depth in the dry ice-free permafrost. Although weathering is negligible, the soil chemistry strongly reflects the salinization under differing environmental conditions. Environmentally, Antarctic soils and permafrost are highly susceptible to human disturbance but global climate change effects are likely to be variable.