Nitrate, perchlorate, and iodate co-occur in coastal and inland deserts on Earth
Soluble salts accumulate in deserts on Earth and Mars. Terrestrial Perchlorate, nitrate, and iodate concentrations to better quantify Perchlorate Deserts accumulate soluble salts from atmospheric deposition that impact human health, are a source of nutrients
for organisms, and provide insight into how landscapes evolved on Earth and Mars.We quantified perchlorate, nitrate,
and iodate abundances and co-occurrence in terrestrial deserts to identify fundamental controls on soluble salt
deposition and post-depositional cycling. Soils and nitrate deposits were examined in Death Valley, USA; Atacama
Desert, Chile; Kumtag Desert, China; and along an environmental gradient in the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica.
Our research was the first to compare iodate concentrations across multiple deserts and to examine the environmental controls on the preservation
of iodate, perchlorate, and nitrate in arid environments. We observed the highest perchlorate, nitrate, and iodate concentrations in the Atacama Desert and Transantarctic Mountains, where soluble salts accumulated on stable landscapes over million-year time scales. Our findings confirm the critical role of hyper-aridity and landscape stability in the preservation of soluble salts.We conclude that soluble salt concentrations vary with geologic age, paleoclimate conditions, present day climate, and require more local scale assessments in desert soils to interpret geochemical relationships on Earth and Mars.
Soluble salts accumulate in deserts on Earth and Mars. Terrestrial Perchlorate, nitrate, and iodate concentrations to better quantify Perchlorate Deserts accumulate soluble salts from atmospheric deposition that impact human health, are a source of nutrients
for organisms, and provide insight into how landscapes evolved on Earth and Mars.We quantified perchlorate, nitrate,
and iodate abundances and co-occurrence in terrestrial deserts to identify fundamental controls on soluble salt
deposition and post-depositional cycling. Soils and nitrate deposits were examined in Death Valley, USA; Atacama
Desert, Chile; Kumtag Desert, China; and along an environmental gradient in the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica.
Our research was the first to compare iodate concentrations across multiple deserts and to examine the environmental controls on the preservation
of iodate, perchlorate, and nitrate in arid environments. We observed the highest perchlorate, nitrate, and iodate concentrations in the Atacama Desert and Transantarctic Mountains, where soluble salts accumulated on stable landscapes over million-year time scales. Our findings confirm the critical role of hyper-aridity and landscape stability in the preservation of soluble salts.We conclude that soluble salt concentrations vary with geologic age, paleoclimate conditions, present day climate, and require more local scale assessments in desert soils to interpret geochemical relationships on Earth and Mars.
