Apparent thermal inertia of soils in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Orbital thermal remote sensing reveals modern and ancient hydrological processes in a cold desert landscape
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Despite the persistent cold and dry climate of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV) of Antarctica, a variety of glacial, fluvial, aeolian, and lacustrine processes have operated in the MDV on timescales of millions of years, resulting in a landscape composed of diverse landforms resulting from microclimate zonation and geomorphological overprinting. However, most of what is known about MDV sedimentary depositional history, sediment composition, ground ice distribution and depth, and soil moisture content comes from point measurements. Here, I apply space-borne remote sensing techniques that were refined for Mars geological analyses to a Mars-analog terrestrial cold desert to determine whether apparent thermal inertia measurements, coupled with thermal inertia determination of field samples, can inform the interpretation of ancient landforms and seasonal processes in Antarctica. Measured soil thermal inertia depends most strongly on coarse grain fraction and soil bulk density. Apparent thermal inertia measured via Landsat 8 imaging shows distinct spatial patterns by location, elevation, and hydrological position. Satellite-derived apparent thermal inertia measurements provide a novel tool for exploring geological and hydrological relationships at the landscape scale in this terrestrial polar desert. Most notably, apparent thermal inertia measurements reveal the possible presence of a previously undescribed paleo-lake in the Goldman Pond basin, suggesting that apparent thermal inertia analyses applied to the Dry Valleys could expand our understanding of landform development and the geological history of a landscape which is critical for interpreting past ice sheet response to changing climate conditions.
Author: J. S. Levy
Institution: Colgate University
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,993
OpenAlex ID: W7138028261