Hm. French et M. Guglielmin, Observations on the ice-marginal, periglacial geomorphology of Terra Nova Bay, northern Victoria Land, Antarctica, PERMAFR P P, 10(4), 1999, pp. 331-347
The ice-free areas of the Northern Foothills, Antarctica, represent an ice-
marginal, high-latitude periglacial environment. In addition to extreme col
d and aridity, they are characterized by exceptionally strong winds. The ef
fectiveness of traditional freeze-thaw and mass-wasting (solifluction) proc
esses are limited because of the lack of moisture and the shallow active la
yer. Mass wasting mainly occurs through in situ rock disintegration and ass
ociated gravity processes. Bare rectilinear bedrock slopes are the result a
nd reflect a balance between debris production and debris removal. The most
active landscape-modifying processes appear to be (1) wind erosion and (2)
taffoni and honeycomb weathering. Ventifacts are used to suggest a very te
ntative rate of wind abrasion of approximately 0.10-0.30 cm per 1000 years.
Rates of taffoni and honeycomb weathering appear to be an order of magnitu
de greater, estimated to be between 2-3 and 8-10 cm per 1000 years. Copyrig
ht (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.