university of oklahoma graduate college physical and chemical weathering of alluvial systems of ...

196 Pages·2015·3.85 MB·English

UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

GRADUATE COLLEGE

PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL WEATHERING OF ALLUVIAL SYSTEMS OF THE
MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS, ANTARCTICA

A DISSERTATION

SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

By

KRISTEN RACHELE MARRA
Norman, Oklahoma
2015
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL WEATHERING OF ALLUVIAL SYSTEMS OF THE
MCMURDO DRY VALLEYS, ANTARCTICA

A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE
CONOCOPHILLIPS SCHOOL OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS

BY

______________________________
Dr. Gerilyn Soreghan, Chair

______________________________
Dr. Megan Elwood Madden, Co-Chair

______________________________
Dr. Andrew Elwood Madden

______________________________
Dr. Susan Postawko

______________________________
Dr. Brenda Hall
© Copyright by KRISTEN RACHELE MARRA 2015
All Rights Reserved.
For M.E.J and J.E.M
Acknowledgements

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve
it.”
– Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

This dissertation represents a culmination of many inspiring thoughts, insights,
and gentle (but tough) nudges towards the finish line. Firstly, I would like to thank my
hardworking committee for enabling me to finish this work under non-traditional
circumstances: G.S. Soreghan, for initially inspiring me to invest many years in the field
of geology and for many amazing field and research opportunities; M.E. Elwood-
Madden for continually suggesting new ways of looking at data and supporting my
often misdirected attempts at analyzing and understanding geochemical data; A.
Madden, S. Postawko, and B. Hall, for agreeing to serve on my committee and
continually supporting my efforts through this process. All of your insights and
recommendations have enabled my growth throughout my many (many) years as a
“professional” student.
Secondly, I would like to thank the many OU students who spent many hours in
the lab assisting with sample processing and data analysis, including J. Miller, J.
DiGiulio, M. Irwinsky, R. Funderburg, and Y. Joo. I would also like to thank A. Stumpf
for great field fun with L. Soreghan and B. Hall in Antarctica while collecting our
research samples and L.J. Keiser for countless mindful (and mindless) discussions,
laughs, and general merriment during our research endeavors and beyond. I would also
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like to thank the continued support and encouragement provided by M. and P. Marra,
C.J. Williams, E.A. Marra, and M.E. Jensen, as well as by my colleagues at the USGS:
K.J. Whidden, S.B. Gaswirth, C.J. Schenk, J. Pitman, and A. Boehlke. In addition, I
would like to thank my Geology 111 students at RRCC for challenging me and
providing great humor and kind encouragement, despite their own struggles, during this
process.
Of course, I would like to thank the many faculty and staff of the
ConocoPhillips School of Geology and Geophysics who have provided immeasurable
support and guidance throughout my many years as a geology student in the college,
including R.D. Elmore, N. Leonard, D.S. Mullins, T. Hackney, J. Cook, R. Turner, and
R. Fay.
Last but not least, I would like to thank K. Miller (and Roxy, Sam, Oliver, and
Khan) for enduring my final push to the end of this process and for providing the
unconditional love and support to keep me going.

Boomer Sooner.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ................................................................................................................... ix
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... x
Abstract ........................................................................................................................... xii
Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2………………………………………………………………………...2
Chapter 3………………………………………………………………………...2
Chapter 4………………………………………………………………………...3
References……………………………………………………………………….5
Chapter 2: Trends in Grain Size and BET Surface Area in Cold-Arid Versus Warm
Semi-Arid Fluvial Systems………………………………………………………………7
Introduction……………………………………………………………………...7
Study Area and Geologic Setting………………………………………………..8
Wright Valley, Antarctica………………………………………………..8
Wichita Mountains, Oklahoma…………………………………………11
Methods………………………………………………………………………...12
Sample Collection………………………………………………………12
Analytical Methods……………………………………………………..13
Statistical Analyses……………………………………………………..14
Results………………………………………………………………………….14
Grain Size………………………………………………………………14
BET Surface Area………………………………………………………16
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XRD Analyses…………………………………………………………..16
Discussion………………………………………………………………………17
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….22
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….23
References……………………………………………………………………...47
Chapter 3: BET Surface Area Distributions in Polar Stream Sediments: Implications for
Silicate Weathering in a Cold-Arid Environment……………………………………..51
Introduction…………………………………………………………………….51
Study Area……………………………………………………………………...53
Methods………………………………………………………………………...55
Results………………………………………………………………………….57
Discussion……………………………………………………………………...60
Dry Valley Drift………………………………………………………...61
Eolian Processes……………………………………………………….63
Stream Discharge and Hyporheic Zone Processes…………………….64
Organic Acids…………………………………………………………..68
Comparison to Temperate Proglacial and Non-glacial Streams………69
Application to Weathering Rate Calculations………………………….70
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………….71
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………….73
References……………………………………………………………………...93
Chapter 4: Physical and Chemical Weathering in Fine-Grained Stream Sediments of the
McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica……………………………………………………100
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Introduction…………………………………………………………………...100
Background……………………………………………………………………103
Geologic Setting………………………………………………………103
Weathering Studies in the McMurdo Dry Valleys…………………….106
Methods……………………………………………………………………….109
Results and Discussion………………………………………………………..111
Clark Glacier Stream (Wright Valley)………………………………..112
Delta Stream and Goldman Glacier Channel (Taylor Valley)……….114
Weathering Indices…………………………………………………....117
Comparison of Wright and Taylor Valley Streams…………………...122
Conclusions…………………………………………………………………...131
Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………...133
References…………………………………………………………………….166
Chapter 5: Summary………………………………………………………………......174
Recommendations…………………………………………………………….176
References…………………………………………………………………….178
Appendix A……………………………………………………………………….......180
Appendix B………………………………………………………………………........181
Appendix C……………………………………………………………………….…...182

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List of Tables
Table 2.1: Sample site characteristics for Wright Valley and Wichita Mountains…….25
Table 2.2: Statistical data for nitrogen adsorption BET analyses……………………...27
Table 3.1: Sample site characteristics for Antarctica and the Wichita Mountains…….74
Table 3.2: BET values for temperate glacier samples and assorted drift deposits……..76
Table 3.3: Weathering rates as determined by the CRC model………………………..78
Table 4.1: Compilation of meltwater stream weathering studies……………………..135
Table 4.2: Whole-rock geochemistry for Antarctic sample sites……………………..137

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