Articles | Volume 10, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-167-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-10-167-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Original research article
| 
22 Feb 2024
Original research article |
| 22 Feb 2024
| 22 Feb 2024
Mineral dust and pedogenesis in the alpine critical zone
Department of Earth & Climate Sciences, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
Abigail A. Santis
Department of Earth & Climate Sciences, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
Elsa J. Soderstrom
Department of Earth & Climate Sciences, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT 05753, USA
Michael J. Tappa
Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Ann M. Bauer
Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
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Jeffrey S. Munroe
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This study investigated a cave in Utah (USA) that contains a deposit of perennial ice. Such ice caves are important sources of information about past climate and are currently threatened by rising temperatures. The origin (precipitation), thickness (3 m), and age (several centuries) of the ice were constrained by a variety of methods. Liquid water recently entered the cave for the first time in many years, suggesting a destabilization of the cave environment.
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Short summary
This study investigated how the deposition of mineral dust delivered by the wind influences soil development in mountain environments. At six mountain locations in the southwestern United States, modern dust was collected along with samples of soil and local bedrock. Analysis indicates that at all sites the properties of dust and soil are very similar and are very different from underlying rock. This result indicates that soils are predominantly composed of dust delivered by the wind over time.
This study investigated how the deposition of mineral dust delivered by the wind influences soil...
