Soils of Mount Erebus, Antarctica

Abstract

Soil distribution on Mt Erebus is restricted by the extensive ice and snow cover and by the rugged topography. Soil occurrence is limited to rock exposures, to areas kept free of ice by the hot vapours and heat of fumaroles, and to areas near the active crater. The soils of Mt Erebus are lithosols, and because of their acid reaction are unique among the soils of South Victoria Land, the Commonwealth Range, and the Bunger Oasis. Also, the mineral assemblage of these lithosols includes minerals not yet reported among the little-studied Antarctic soils. These outstanding characteristics are related to the hydrothermal processes associated with the volcanic activity of the region.A sample obtained near an active fumarole showed considerable microbiological activity and minerals such as allophane, gibbsite, illite, and feldspar. Allophane, an alteration product of volcanic ash, is forming at present in New Zealand and Japan. A sample from the summit was found to be sterile and to contain considerable quantities of sulphur and chlorides. The clay size fraction showed kaolinite, a mixed layer montmorillonite-illite, illite, and feldspar. The mineral suite of these soils may have been derived in place under the action of past and present surface hydrothermal processes; alternatively, it is possible that the minerals may have been synthesised at depth in the crater and later expelled.

Antarctic soils and soil formation in a changing environment: A review

“…Bockheim. During the early 1960s Ugolini recognized the major pedogenic processes and the role of time on soil development (Ugolini, 1963(Ugolini, , 1964Ugolini and Bull, 1965;Ugolini and Starkey, 1966). The processes identified from these early studies are still considered the prevailing ones by the recent investigators.…”

“…On Mt. Erebus, hydrothermal alteration associated with active fumaroles produced unusual assemblage of clays (Ugolini, 1967).…”

Biodiversity of yeasts and filamentous microfungi in terrestrial Antarctic ecosystems

“…These arguments (and those in the introduction) against considering such records as contributing to biodiversity do not, of course, necessarily apply to the soils heated by vulcanism. Ugolini and Starkey (1966) found '... fungi as abundant.., as in many fertile cultivated soils of temperate regions' at one site in a fumarole field on Mt Erebus (Victoria Land), though these soils have only algae and cyanobacteria as primary producers. Geothermal areas on Mt Melbourne (also in Victoria Land) have mosses and liverworts and a greater variety of fungi (Broady et al, 1987).…”

Geothermal activity in Victoria Land, Antarctica

“…The initial relatively steep outer slopes of the main crater flatten to an extensive plateau at an altitude of about 3200-3500 m except O'n the south-east where the outer slope continues to drop steeply. Geothermal activity has been recorded on the plateau and the northern and western slopes of the summit crater (David & Priestley 1909;1914;Holdsworth & Ugolini 1965;Ugolini 1967). Early visitors observed the conspicuous ice towers and recogOlsed they were due to condensation of thermal vapO'urs.…”