The McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDVs) constitute the largest ice‐free area (6700 km2) in Antarctica. Permafrost is ubiquitous in the region and is present as ground ice or buried ice, ice‐cemented permafrost and dry‐frozen permafrost. Using a combined dataset that includes more than 800 shallow (<1.5 m) excavations, we provide a map at a scale of 1:2 million showing the distribution of permafrost in the MDVs. Our data suggest that about 55% of the permafrost is ice cemented, 43% is dry frozen and ground/buried ice comprises at least 2% of the area. Permafrost form is related to climatic zone, age of sediments and local site factors. Ice is present in ice‐cored alpine moraines and coastal tills of Holocene age in hummocky drifts of late Quaternary age (ca. <115 ka); however, it is also present in Miocene‐aged sublimation till in Beacon Valley. Ice‐cemented permafrost is present not only in coastal areas (subxerous climatic zone) and in sediments of late Quaternary age, but also in soils of pre‐Quaternary‐age in ultraxerous regions along the polar plateau. Dry‐frozen permafrost exists along the floors and lower sidewalls of larger ice‐free valleys (xerous climatic zone) in sediments of pre‐late Quaternary age. Dry‐frozen permafrost, which may be unique to Antarctica, appears to form from sublimation of moisture in ice‐cemented permafrost over time. Active‐layer depths are 45 to 70 cm in coastal areas and in the eastern half of Wright and Taylor Valleys, 20 to 45 cm in other ice‐free areas within 60 km of McMurdo Sound, and <20 cm along the polar plateau. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Hydrocarbon spills have occurred on Antarctic soils where fuel oils are utilized, moved or stored. We investigated the effects of hydrocarbon spills on soil temperature and moisture regimes by comparing the properties of existing oil contaminated sites with those of nearby, uncontaminated, control sites at Scott Base, the old Marble Point camp, and Bull Pass in the Wright Valley. Hydrocarbon levels were elevated in fuel-contaminated samples. Climate stations were installed at all three locations in both contaminated and control sites. In summer at Scott Base and Marble Point the mean weekly maximum near surface (2 cm and 5 cm depth) soil temperatures were warmer (P < 0.05), sometimes by more than 10°C, at the contaminated site than the control sites. At Bull Pass there were no statistically significant differences in near-surface soil temperatures between contaminated and control soils. At the Scott Base and Marble Point sites soil albedo was lower, and hydrophobicity was higher, in the contaminated soils than the controls. The higher temperatures at the Scott Base and Marble Point hydrocarbon contaminated sites are attributed to the decreased surface albedo due to soil surface darkening by hydrocarbons. There were no noteworthy differences in moisture retention between contaminated and control sites.