Cryoconites as Factors of Soil Development in Conditions of Rapid Retreat of the Aldegonda Glacier, Western Svalbard

Cryoconite is an organomineral sediment on the surface of glaciers. It has predominantly an eolian origin, demonstrates high microbial activity, and contains a relatively large pool of nutrients. When glaciers retreat, the cryoconite material is translocated to the periglacial zone, where it serves as a nutrient-rich fine-textured parent rock component that promotes establishment of initial soils. Here we examine the spatial patterns of cryoconite on the surface of Aldegonda Glacier (Svalbard) and investigate the further pedogenic transformation of cryoconite material in periglacial environments of this rapidly retreating glacier. The data on micromorphology, composition of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, and radiocarbon age of different organic matter fractions in cryoconite and cryoconite-influenced periglacial soils are discussed. We demonstrate that soils formed on cryoconite material partially inherit its properties, and the soil formation processes can be accelerated by an order of magnitude compared to the surrounding nutrient-poor and coarse-textured till.