High-frequency rock temperature data from hyper-arid desert environments in the Atacama and the Antarctic Dry Valleys and implications for rock weathering

Geomorphology

Volumn 110, Issue 3-4, 2009, Pages 182-187

  McKay, Christopher P ^a   Molaro, Jamie L ^a   Marinova, Margarita M ^b  

^a NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER   (United States)

^b CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY   (United States)

Author keywords

Antarctica; Arid; Atacama; Beacon; Cracking; Damping depth; Desert; Dry Valleys; Flaking; Fryxell; Grain scale; Rock; Rock weather; Rock weathering; Spalling; Stress; Stress gradient; Surface weather; Temperature; Thermal; Thermal shock; Thermal stress fatigue

Indexed keywords

ARID ENVIRONMENT; DESERT; ROCK PROPERTY; SURFACE TEMPERATURE; TEMPERATURE ANOMALY; TEMPERATURE EFFECT; WEATHERING;

ATACAMA; CHILE; SOUTH AMERICA;

EID: 67651111855     PISSN: 0169555X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2009.04.005     Document Type: Article

References (22)

1. Bahr H.-A., Fischer G., and Weiss H.-J. Thermal-shock crack patterns explained by single and multiple crack propagation. Journal of Materials Science 21 (1986) 2716-2720
2. Campbell G.S. An Introduction to Environmental Physics (1977), Springer-Verlag, New York 15-17
3. Cooke R.U., and Smalley I.J. Salt weathering in deserts. Nature 220 (1968) 1226-1227
4. Doran P.T., McKay C.P., Clow G.D., Dana G.L., Fountain A.G., Nylen T., and Lyons W.B. Valley floor climate observations from the McMurdo dry valleys, Antarctica, 1986-2000. Journal of Geophysical Research 107 D24 (2002) 4772 10.1029/2001JD002045
5. Doran P.T., McKay C.P., Fountain A.G., Nylen T., McKnight D.M., Jaros C., and Barrett J.E. Hydrologic response to extreme warm and cold summers in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science 20 (2008) 499-509
6. Hall K. Freeze-thaw weathering: the cold region "panacea"?. Polar Geography and Geology 19 (1995) 79-87
7. Hall K. Rock temperatures and implications for cold region weathering: I. New data from Viking Valley, Alexander Island (Antarctica). Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 8 (1997) 69-90
8. Hall K. Rock temperatures and implications for cold region weathering: II. New data from Rothera, Adelaide Island (Antarctica). Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 9 (1998) 47-55
9. Hall K. The role of thermal stress fatigue in the breakdown of rock in cold regions. Geomorphology 31 (1999) 47-63
10. Hall K. Perceptions of rock weathering in cold regions: a discussion on space and time attributes of scale. Géomorphologie 3 (2006) 187-196
11. Hall K., and Andre M.-F. New insights into rock weathering from high-frequency rock temperature data: an Antarctic study of weathering by thermal stress. Geomorphology 41 (2001) 23-35
12. Hall K., and Andre M.-F. Rock thermal data at the grain scale: applicability to granular disintegration in cold environments. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 28 (2003) 823-836
13. Hall K., Guglielmin M., and Strini A. Weathering of granite in Antarctica: II. thermal stress at the grain scale. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 33 (2008) 475-493
14. Hallet B. Why do freezing rocks break?. Science 314 (2006) 1092-1093
15. Hœrlé S. Rock temperatures as an indicator of weathering processes affecting rock art. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 31 (2006) 383-389
16. McKay C.P., and Friedmann E.I. The cryptoendolithic microbial environment in the Antarctic cold desert: temperature variations in nature. Polar Biology 4 (1985) 19-25
17. McKay C.P., Friedmann E.I., Gomez-Silva B., Caceres-Villanueva L., Andersen D.T., and Landheim R. Temperature and moisture conditions for life in the extreme arid region of the Atacama Desert: 4 years of observations including the El Nino of 1997-98. Astrobiology 3 (2003) 393-406
18. Navarro-Gonzalez R., Rainey F.A., Molina P., Bagaley D.R., Hollen B.J., de la Rosa J., Small A.M., Quinn R.C., Grunthaner F.J., Ceceres L., Gomez-Silva B., and McKay C.P. Mars-like soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile and the dry limit of microbial life. Science 302 (2003) 1018-1021
19. Strini A., Guglielmin M., and Hall K. Tafoni development in a cryptic environment: an example from Northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 33 (2008) 1502-1519
20. Sumner P.D., Meiklejohn K.I., Nel W., and Hedding D.W. Thermal attributes of rock weathering: zonal or azonal? A comparison of rock temperatures in different environments. Polar Geography 28 (2004) 79-92
21. Wellman H.W., and Wilson A.T. Salt weathering, a neglected geological and erosive agent in coastal and arid environments. Nature 205 (1965) 1097-1098
22. Yatsu E. The Nature of Weathering: An Introduction (1988), Sozosha, Tokyo 624 pp