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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms pp 1–3Cite as

Water Track (Antarctica)

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Definition

Linear or patchy feature of enhanced soil moisture observed in permafrost in the absence of precipitation.

Proposed terrestrial analog of recurring slope lineae.

A type of permafrost landform.

Description

Water tracks normally appear as subtle sublinear depressions, but during peak flow conditions, they are damp, darkened patches of soil (Levy and Fountain 2011; Levy 2012) (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Water tracks in the Goldman Glacier Basin, Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Lines indicate downslope growth during 3 days. Portions of QuickBird images (Fig. 2 from Levy 2012)

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References

  • Levy JS (2012) Hydrological characteristics of recurrent slope lineae on Mars: evidence for liquid flow through regolith and comparisons with Antarctic terrestrial analogs. Icarus 219(1):1–4

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  • Levy JS (2013) Water tracks in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: investigating habitability conditions in a terrestrial analogue to recurring slope lineae. EPSC abstracts 8, EPSC2013-119

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  • Levy JS, Fountain AG (2011) “Water tracks” in the McMurdo dry valleys, Antarctica: a permafrost-based hydrological system supporting complex biological and geochemical processes in a Mars-analog environment. 42nd LPSC #1210

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  • Levy JS, Fountain AG (2012) Hydrological characteristics of recurrent slope lineae on Mars based on time-resolved HiRISE analyses and comparisons with fluid flow through an Antarctic terrestrial analog regolith. 43rd LPSC #1029

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  • Levy JS, Fountain AG, Gooseff MN, Welch KA, Lyons WB (2011) Water tracks and permafrost in Taylor Valley, Antarctica: extensive and shallow groundwater connectivity in a cold desert ecosystem. Geol Soc Am Bull. doi:10.1130/B30436.1

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  • McNamara JP, Kane DL, Hinzman LD (1999) An analysis of an arctic channel network using a digital elevation model. Geomorphology 29(3–4):339–353

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  • Rowland JC, Jones CE, Altmann G, Bryan R et al (2010) Arctic landscapes in transition: responses to thawing permafrost. Eos 91(26):229–236

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Kirby Runyon

Authors
  1. Kirby Runyon
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Correspondence to Kirby Runyon .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Runyon, K. (2014). Water Track (Antarctica). In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_597-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_597-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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