Soils of the Barrow region, Alaska1

Abstract

Soils have been studied near Barrow, Alaska for nearly 50 years. Since 1995 we have described, sampled, and characterized 26 pedons in the Barrow region, primarily within the Barrow Experimental Observatory, as part of a legacy soils database. The soils occur on land cover types that range from dry to wet acidic tundra. Cryoturba‐tion is the dominant process that affects most of the soils, but other processes include paludization, gleization, melanization, base‐cation leaching, and anthrosolization. In general, the soils have high levels of total organic carbon, total N, and silt. The cation‐exchange capacity is high but is dominated by exchangeable acidity. Twelve soil subgroups were recognized in the region, of which four were classified as Turbels, four as Orthels, and four as Histels. There is considerable spatial variability in the soils due to the presence of low‐, flat‐, and high‐centered frost polygons. The thaw‐lake cycle is of special importance in the Barrow region.