Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-zzh7m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-29T13:24:28.777Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hyperspectral measurements of wet, dry and saline soils from the McMurdo Dry Valleys: soil moisture properties from remote sensing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 February 2014

Joseph Levy ,
Anne Nolin ,
Andrew Fountain  and
James Head
Joseph Levy*
Affiliation:
University of Texas Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, TX 78758, USA
Anne Nolin
Affiliation:
College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA
Andrew Fountain
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97210, USA
James Head
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
*
joe.levy@utexas.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Soil moisture is a spatially heterogeneous quantity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica that exerts a large influence on the biological community and on the thermal state of Dry Valleys permafrost. The goal of this project was to determine whether hyperspectral remote sensing techniques could be used to determine soil moisture conditions in the Dry Valleys. We measured the spectral reflectance factors of wetted soil samples from the Dry Valleys under natural light conditions and related diagnostic spectral features to surface layer soil moisture content. Diagnostic water absorption features in the spectra at 1.4 µm and 1.9 µm were present in all samples, including samples doped with high concentrations of chloride salts. The depth of the 1.4 µm absorption is shown to increase linearly with increasing gravimetric water content. These results suggest that airborne hyperspectral imaging of the Dry Valleys could generate soil moisture maps of this environment over large spatial areas using non-invasive remote-sensing techniques.

Keywords

active layerpermafrostspectroscopyterrestrial environmentwater tracks
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 26 , Issue 5 , October 2014 , pp. 565 - 572
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abrams, M. 2000. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER): data products for the high spatial resolution imager on NASA’s Terra platform. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 21, 847–859.Google Scholar
Barrett, J.E., Gooseff, M.N. & Takacs-Vesbach, C. 2009. Spatial variation in soil active-layer geochemistry across hydrologic margins in polar desert ecosystems. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 13, 2349–2358.Google Scholar
Bockheim, J.G., Campbell, I.B. & McLeod, M. 2007. Permafrost distribution and active-layer depths in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 18, 217–227.Google Scholar
Campbell, I.B., Claridge, G.G.C., Campbell, D.I. & Balks, M.R. 1998. The soil environment of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 72, 297–322.Google Scholar
Clark, R.N. & Roush, T.L. 1984. Reflectance spectroscopy: quantitative analysis techniques for remote sensing applications. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 89, 6329–6340.Google Scholar
Chinn, T.J. 1993. Physical hydrology of the Dry Valleys lakes. Antarctic Research Series, 59, 1–52.Google Scholar
Crowley, J.K. 1991. Visible and near-infrared (0.4–2.5 µm) reflectance spectra of Playa evaporate minerals. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 96, 16 231–16 240.Google Scholar
Entekhabi, D., Jackson, T.J., Njoku, E., O’Neill, P. & Entin, J. 2008. Soil moisture active/passive (SMAP) mission concept. SPIE Proceedings, 7085, 10.1117/12.795910.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Entekhabi, D., Njoku, E.G. & O’Neill, P.E. et al. 2010. The soil moisture active passive (SMAP) mission. Proceedings of the IEEE, 98, 704–716.Google Scholar
Finn, M.P., Lewis, M., Bosch, D.D., Giraldo, M., Yamamoto, K., Sullivan, D.G. & Kincaid, R. 2011. Remote sensing of soil moisture using airborne hyperspectral data. GIScience & Remote Sensing, 48, 522–540.Google Scholar
Gooseff, M.N., Barrett, J.E. & Levy, J.S. 2013. Shallow groundwater systems in a polar desert, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Hydrogeology Journal, 21, 171–183.Google Scholar
Graser, E.A. & van Bavel, C.H.M. 1982. The effect of soil moisture upon soil albedo. Agricultural Meteorology, 27, 17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, R.O., Eastwood, M.L. & Sarture, C.M. et al. 1998. Imaging spectroscopy and the airborne visible/infrared imaging spectrometer (AVIRIS). Remote Sensing of Environment, 65, 227–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, K.J., Carey, A.E., Lyons, W.B., Welch, K.A. & Fountain, A.G. 2007. Solute and isotope geochemistry of subsurface ice melt seeps in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 119, 548–555.Google Scholar
Hunt, H.W., Treonis, A.M., Wall, D.H. & Virginia, R.A. 2007. A mathematical model for variation in water-retention curves among sandy soils. Antarctic Science, 19, 427–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Idso, S.B., Jackson, R.D., Reginato, R.J., Kimball, B.A. & Nakayama, F.S. 1975. Dependence of bare soil albedo on soil water content. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 14, 109–113.Google Scholar
Ikard, S.J., Gooseff, M.N., Barrett, J.E. & Takacs-Vesbach, C. 2009. Thermal characterisation of active layer across a soil moisture gradient in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 20, 27–39.Google Scholar
Kennedy, A.D. 1993. Water as a limiting factor in the Antarctic terrestrial environment: a biogeographical synthesis. Arctic and Alpine Research, 25, 308–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, J.S., Fountain, A.G., Welch, K.A. & Lyons, W.B. 2012b. Hypersaline “wet patches” in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Geophysical Research Letters, 39, 10.1029/2012GL050898.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, J.S., Fountain, A.G., Gooseff, M.N., Welch, K.A. & Lyons, W.B. 2011. Water tracks and permafrost in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: extensive and shallow groundwater connectivity in a cold desert ecosystem. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 123, 2295–2311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, J., Fountain, A., Gooseff, M., Barrett, J., Wall, D., Nielsen, U., Adams, B. & Lyons, W.B. 2012a. Active layer processes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: decadal trends and experimental responses to changes in soil moisture. Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Permafrost, 221–226.Google Scholar
Levy, J.S., Fountain, A.G., Gooseff, M.N., Barrett, J.E., Vantreese, R., Welch, K.A., Lyons, W.B., Nielsen, U.N. & Wall, D.H. 2013. Water track modification of soil ecosystems in the Lake Hoare basin, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 10.1017/S095410201300045X.Google Scholar
Lobell, D.B. & Asner, G.P. 2002. Moisture effects on soil reflectance. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66, 722–727.Google Scholar
Lorenz, D. 1966. The effect of the long-wave reflectivity of natural surfaces on surface temperature measurements using radiometers. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 5, 421–430.Google Scholar
Lyons, W.B., Welch, K.A., Carey, A.E., Doran, P.T., Wall, D.H., Virginia, R.A., Fountain, A.G., Csatho, B.M. & Tremper, C.M. 2005. Groundwater seeps in Taylor Valley Antarctica: an example of a subsurface melt event. Annals of Glaciology, 40, 200–206.Google Scholar
Massé, M., Beck, P., Schmitt, B., Pommerol, A., Mcewen, A., Chevrier, V.F. & Brissaud, O. 2012. Nature and origin of RSL: spectroscopy and detectability of liquid brines in the near-infrared. Lunar and Planetary Institute Science Conference Abstracts, 43, 1856.Google Scholar
McKnight, D.M., Niyogi, D.K., Alger, A.S., Bomblies, A., Conovitz, P.A. & Tate, C.M. 1999. Dry valley streams in Antarctica: ecosystems waiting for water. BioScience, 49, 985–995.Google Scholar
Salvatore, M.R., Mustard, J.F., Head, J.W., Marchant, D.R. & Wyatt, M.B. 2013. Characterization of spectral and geochemical variability within the Ferrar Dolerite of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: weathering, alteration, and magmatic processes. Antarctic Science, 10.1017/S0954102013000254.Google Scholar
Schaepman-Strub, G., Schaepman, M.E., Painter, T.H., Dangel, S. & Martonchik, J.V. 2006. Reflectance quantities in optical remote sensing – definitions and case studies. Remote Sensing of Environment, 103, 27–42.Google Scholar
Stichbury, G., Brabyn, L., Allan Green, T.G. & Cary, C. 2011. Spatial modelling of wetness for the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Polar Research, 30, 10.3402/polar.v30i0.6330.Google Scholar
Toner, J.D., Sletten, R.S. & Prentice, M.L. 2013. Soluble salt accumulations in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: implications for paleolakes and Ross Sea ice sheet dynamics. Journal of Geophysical Research - Earth Surface, 118, 198–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ugolini, F.C. & Anderson, D.M. 1973. Ionic migration and weathering in frozen Antarctic soils. Soil Science, 115, 461–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Virginia, R.A. & Wall, D.H. 1999. How soils structure communities in the Antarctic dry valleys. BioScience, 49, 973–983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, A.T. 1979. Geochemical problems of the Antarctic dry areas. Nature, 280, 205–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wyatt, M.B., Head, J.W., Marchant, D.R., Harvey, R.P., Christensen, P.R., Salvatore, M.R. & Horodyskyj, U.N. 2010. Orbital spectral mapping of surface compositions in the Antarctic Dry Valleys: regional distributions of secondary mineral-phases as climate indicators and implications for Mars. Lunar and Planetary Institute Science Conference Abstracts, 41, 2275.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Levy Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material

Download Levy Supplementary Material(PDF)
PDF 2.4 MB