Soils and Terrain Units Around Resolute, Cornwallis Island

Abstract

The soils around Resolute, southwest Cornwallis Island, are mapped and described. Polar Desert, Lithosol and Tundra gley are identified as the main genetic soils. Polar Desert Soils and Lithosols are found on dry, moisture-shedding sites, whereas some Bog soils are intermixed with Tundra gleys in wet, poorly drained and plant colonized sites. Subdivisions of soil series are associated with terrain units, which are regarded as a useful differentiating basis among arctic soils and as an aid in their mapping. Local variation within the three genetic soils is related to changes in parent material, terrain unit and percent plant cover. Weathering and pedogenesis are those of a cold, arid environment, and the Polar Desert soils are dominant in the study area.