Introduction

Permafrost-affected soils were studied in theAuyuittuq National Park Reserve on Baffin Island. Thesoils, which are dominantly Cryosols, are found pri-marily along the lower slopes and the valley floor ofPangnirtung Pass on Cumberland Peninsula. Bockheim(1979) provided information both on the major soils ofsouth-western Cumberland Peninsula and on the use ofsoils as an indicator for determining the relative age ofglacial and marine sediments. Soil studies by Blouin etal. (1975), Birkeland (1978), Evans and Cameron (1979)and Locke (1985) focussed on dating the parent materi-al. Tarnocai and Veldhuis (1998) mapped the soils ofPangnirtung Pass and characterized the soils along thefull extent of the pass. In this paper the characteristics,distribution and genesis of Cryosols (permafrost-affect-ed soils) occurring in the study area are discussed onthe basis of four selected soil profiles.

Study area

Auyuittuq National Park Reserve is located onCumberland Peninsula in the southeastern part ofBaffin Island (Figure 1). The bedrock in this area is ofPrecambrian age, with the dominant rocks being gra-nites, granitic gneisses and granitic para-gneisses. The

area is a remnant of an old peneplain that underwenttwo successive uplifts accompanied by numerous dislo-cations and fractures during the Tertiary (Taylor, 1981).The ensuing glacial, fluvial, eolian and mass-wastingprocesses further reshaped the surfaces of the park(Thompson, 1954). The study area encompasses

Abstract

Soils were studied along Pangnirtung Pass on Cumberland Peninsula in the southeastern part of BaffinIsland, N.W.T. The soils studied are dominantly Cryosols. They have developed on till, eolian, fluvial and collu-vial materials, and have active layer depths between 60 and 150 cm. Turbic Cryosols have developed primarilyon till. These soils (Orthic Dystric Turbic Cryosols and Regosolic Turbic Cryosols) are acidic and have a loamysand texture. Static Cryosols (Orthic Dystric Static Cryosols, Regosolic Static Cryosols, Brunisolic Dystric StaticCryosols and Gleysolic Static Cryosols), which are found on different parent materials, are also acidic, and inmost cases they have a sandy or coarse sandy texture. The deepest solum development is found in BrunisolicDystric Static Cryosols developed on well-drained eolian materials. Gleysolic Static Cryosols have developedon poorly drained locations. In addition, small areas of Organic Cryosols occur in the northern part ofPangnirtung Pass.

Gabriele Broll, et al. 89

PERMAFROST-AFFECTED SOILS IN THE PANGNIRTUNG PASS AREA, BAFFIN ISLAND, CANADA

Gabriele Broll1, Gerald M�ller1, Charles Tarnocai2

1. Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Muenster, Robert-Koch-Str. 26, 48149 Muenster, Germanye-mail: brollg@uni-muenster.de

e-mail: muelleg@uni-muenster.de

2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Research Branch (ECORC), K.W. Neatby Building, 960 Carling Avenue, Ottawa,Ontario, Canada K1A0C6

e-mail: tarnocaict@em.agr.ca

Figure 1. Location of the study area at Pangnirtung Pass, Baffin Island,N.W.T., Canada.

Pangnirtung Pass, from Overlord in the south to NorthPangnirtung Fiord in the north (Figure 1). This pass is anarrow, boxed-in corridor that begins at sea level andrises to about 350 m at Summit Lake. The vertical cliffsrise abruptly to approximately 1000 m, although insome cases they can reach 1500 m. The only transitionsbetween the vertical cliffs and the valley floor are thenarrow talus slopes and debris cones. The great majori-ty of glacial deposits within the Auyuittuq NationalPark Reserve are of Wisconsinan age. Deglaciationoccurred about 8000 years ago (Andrews, 1989).

The study area lies within the Oceanic High ArcticEcoclimatic Region (Ecoregions Working Group, 1989).The average monthly temperatures at the Pangnirtungmeteorological station (Yorke, 1972 cited in CanadianParks Service, 1989) vary between 7.8¡C (July) and -27.0¡C (February), with extreme maximum and mini-mum temperatures of 26.7¡C and -43.3¡C. The meanannual air temperature is -9.8¡C. The total annual pre-cipitation is 395 mm, of which 174 mm is rain and 221 mm is snow. One of the most important aspects ofthe climate is its variability from one area to another.The sizes and orientations of the valleys and the close-ness to ice bodies or open water can greatly influencethe local climate. The topography, which can result inthe funneling of air in certain fixed directions, can causeextreme wind speeds and increased wind chill(Maxwell, 1980).

Methods

During June and July of 1995 and 1996, soils weredescribed and sampled at the Owl River, Rundle andOverlord study sites (for locations, see Table 1). Soilsamples were analyzed in the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Ottawa, Canada) laboratory and at theInstitute of Landscape Ecology (Muenster, Germany).After air-drying, soil samples were sieved (<2 mm) andparticle size analysis was done using the pipettemethod (Carter, 1993). Soil pH was measured in 0.01Mcalcium chloride with a glass electrode. Elemental ana-lyzers (LECO, CARLO ERBA NA 1500) were used fororganic carbon and total nitrogen. In order to determinethe different forms of iron and aluminum, the dithionite-citrate, acid ammonium oxalate and sodiumpyrophosphate methods were used (Carter, 1993). Thesoil horizon designations and soil classification areaccording to the Canadian System of Soil Classification(Soil Classification Working Group, 1998). The U.S. SoilTaxonomy is also given (USDA Soil Survey Staff, 1998).

Results

Two types of moraines were identified in the studyarea, those produced by late Wisconsin glaciation andthose produced by neoglaciation. In addition to till,other major parent materials are glaciofluvial andeolian material, and colluvium. Permafrost is conti-nuous and the active layer is generally 60 to 150 cmthick. Patterned ground occurs throughout the study

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Table 1. Location of sites and site parameters

area, primarily in the form of nonsorted circles and ice-wedge polygons, with rare occurrences of earth hum-mocks (Washburn, 1980). Such patterned ground ismuch more common in the northern part of the studyarea than in the south. The vegetation cover is continu-ous except on active eolian and fluvial surfaces andvaries from dwarf shrub-sedge-moss-lichen tundra veg-etation on the southern inshore regions to stony sedge-moss-lichen tundra on the highlands and northernfiords (Porsild, 1957).

In the northern part of Pangnirtung Pass, where thevalley bottom is very wide (about 3.5 km), Owl Riverwas one of the main study sites. Although OrthicDystric Static Cryosols are the dominant soils at thisstudy site, Orthic Dystric Turbic Cryosols (Figure 2;Tables 1 and 2), Regosolic Turbic Cryosols (Tables 1 and2), and Regosolic Static Cryosols also occur. In mostcases, the permafrost table is about 80 cm deep.Brunisols have developed in those areas where per-mafrost occurs at depths greater than 1 m. The pH ofthe Cryosols studied in the northern part increases frompH 4.5 in the topsoil to about 5.0 in the C horizon, andthe texture varies between sandy loam and sand (Table3). In all cases, the organic carbon content of the B andC horizons is very low compared to that of the carbon-enriched A horizons. Most of the extractable iron andaluminum values for the two soils sampled at this sitefall within the mid-range of the values for the four soils

Gabriele Broll, et al. 91

Table 2. Pedon descriptions

Figure 2. Soil profile at the Owl River 1 study site.

studied, with the highest and lowest values occurringin soils in the southern part of the pass. In addition tomineral Cryosols, poorly drained Terric OrganicCryosols were found in a peatland area at June Valley.

The soils of the southern part of Pangnirtung Pass,where the valley bottom is narrowest (about 1.0 km),are represented by a Gleysolic Static Cryosol at theRundle study site (Tables 1 and 2) and a Regosolic StaticCryosol at the Overlord study site (Tables 1 and 2). Inthese soil profiles permafrost occurs nearer to the sur-face than in the profiles investigated at Owl River. ThepH of the Gleysolic Static Cryosol that developed oneolian sand at the Rundle study site is almost the samein all horizons (Table 3). The soil organic matter contentis relatively high, even in the C horizon. Extractableiron and aluminum are also high, especially in the Bhfhorizon. The Regosolic Static Cryosol at the Overlordstudy site developed on loam-textured colluvial materi-al. There is almost no change in pH with depth, and thesoil organic matter content of the C horizon is also rela-tively high. The extractable iron and aluminum values,however, are the lowest of all profiles.

Discussion

The soils of Pangnirtung Pass are strongly affected bypermafrost with the result that Cryosols are the domi-nant soils. Brunisols and Regosols occur in only a fewparts of the study area. Mineral Cryosols cover most ofthe pass, with minor occurrences of Organic Cryosols.

In most cases the permafrost table occurs within 1 m ofthe surface. Bockheim (1979) did not find ice-cementedpermafrost within the 1 m control section on well-drained sites on the Cumberland Peninsula. Because ofthe gravelly and coarse sandy parent material of theglaciofluvial and till deposits, the drainage is well toimperfect in most cases, but sometimes even rapid. Inthe profiles presented, the amount of sand in the Chorizons is generally more than 80%. Since only smallareas, such as the June Valley study site, are poorlydrained, there are limited possibilities for organic soilsto develop. The wide distribution of coarse parentmaterials is a major factor in the greater extent of StaticCryosols compared to Turbic Cryosols. Bockheim (1979)and Evans and Cameron (1979) emphasized the lowclay content of the soils on Baffin Island, indicating thatlittle chemical weathering has occurred. Similarly, theclay contents of the soil profiles in this study rangefrom only 0.6% to 3.4%.

The southern part of Pangnirtung Pass is geomorpho-logically still a very active area (e.g., active glaciation,landslides and erosion) with young soils (Birkeland,1978; Bockheim, 1979). The Regosolic Static Cryosol atthe Overlord study site is an example of a relativelyyoung (Late Holocene) soil with a low concentration ofpedogenic oxides. Evans and Cameron (1979) have alsofound such low amounts of Fe and Al oxides on BaffinIsland, in the area near Broughton Island. Because ofthe colluvial material, the properties of the soil horizonsof the Regosolic Static Cryosol do not vary greatly.Unlike previous soil studies, a Gleysolic Static Cryosol

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Table 3. Analytical data for the soils studied in Pangnirtung Pass

with typical iron and aluminum enrichment was foundat the Rundle study site. In addition, because of poordrainage conditions and a vegetation cover of lowshrubs, lichens and grasses, the organic matter contentof the A horizon is high.

The parent material at the Owl River study site is a tillthat is, in some cases, covered by eolian or fluvial mate-rial. The distribution of the soils at this site reflects themarked variation of drainage conditions (well to imper-fect) and properties of the parent materials. Soils onmoist areas of this site, especially those lacking veneersor those with only fluvial veneers, are associated withcryoturbation and with considerable organic matteraccumulation in the topsoil. Some of these soils have noB horizon development (Regosolic Turbic Cryosol)while in others a B horizon has developed, primarily inthe fluvial veneer (Orthic Dystric Turbic Cryosol). Onother portions of this site, where various thicknesses ofeolian or fluvial veneer occur, the soils, especially thosewith well-drained conditions, are noncryoturbated(Static Cryosol). The pH of these well-drained soils issimilar to that of soils on imperfectly-drained sites, butthey have a much lower organic carbon content in thetopsoil. Although permafrost is present on these well-drained sites, the genesis of the soils is associated withbrunification processes. Thus, all well-drained soils atthe Owl River study site have brownish B horizons.This B horizon development is stronger and thicker inthe Brunisolic Dystric Static Cryosols than in the OrthicDystric Static Cryosols.

Conclusions

¥ The soils of Pangnirtung Pass are dominated byCryosols whose pedogenesis is strongly affected by per-mafrost.

¥ All soils in the study area are acid (pH 4.5 -5.0), havesand to sandy loam textures, and contain low amountsof clay and extractable iron and aluminum.

¥ Soils of the southern part of the pass are generallyyoung (Regosolic Static Cryosols), primarily because ofactive geomorphological processes such as glaciation,landslides and erosion.

¥ Soils of the northern part of the pass are morestrongly developed than those of the southern part. Asa result, Orthic Dystric Turbic Cryosols, are common.These soils are usually associated with patternedground.

¥ Minor amounts of shallow Organic Cryosols occurin the northern part of the pass. These soils are usuallyassociated with ice-wedge polygons.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the German ScienceFoundation and by Parks Canada, which also providedtechnical assistance and organization, for which we aregrateful.

Gabriele Broll, et al. 93

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