Pedology of the Cryosphere: Opportunities for the 21st Century.

The Cryosphere refers to all forms of solid water on or near the surface of Earth. Permafrost, or permanently frozen ground, is a key component of the Cryosphere. Soils containing permafrost are referred to as Gelisols (Cryosols). Gelisols are defined by the presence of gelic materials and permafrost within 1 to 2 m of the surface. The dominant soil-forming processes in Gelisols leading to the development of gelic materials are cryoturbation, ice segregation, and cryodesiccation. Other processes such as humification, gleization, and salinization may also occur to a lesser extent. Gelisols compose 15% of Earth’s land surface and occur in arctic, alpine, and Antarctic regions. This talk focuses on Gelisols in hyper-arid ecosystems of the Transantarctic Mountains (TAMs) that are of early Pleistocene to Miocene age. Gelisols of the TAMs commonly have a moisture content of less than 5%, abundant soluble salts, minimal organic C, and negligible microbial activity. Gelisols of the TAMs have been used to study soil evolution, reconstruct the glacial history, correlate glacial sequences, understand the behavior of cold-based glaciers, elucidate environmental gradients, and detect climate change. The study of Gelisols enhances our understanding of Earth as a system, particularly with regards to (i) biospheric trace gases, (ii) anthropogenic pollution, (iii) extremophiles, (iv) and extraterrestrial systems. A strategy for investigating Gelisols and funding opportunities are discussed.