Highly-weathered Pre-Cambrian bedrock has been reported from scattered localities across Arctic Canada during the past decade. As part of a study on weathering processes under arid conditions, field studies are reported on-similar terrain in the Alexandra Fjord-Cape Herschel area of east-central Ellesmere Island. Features examined and sampled in both near-coastal and upland positions include grus, tor-like forms, weathering pits, and tafoni. Factors influencing their development and preservation are reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on the influence of bedrock lithology and mineralogy (in this case, hornblende content) on the intensity of physical disintegration under cold arid conditions. Chemical analyses and petrographic data are presented in support of this observation. Preservation of certain remnant weathering features in upland summit areas under cold-based glacial ice is postulated.
Lake sediments and glacial history in the High Arctic; evidence from east-central Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada, and from Inglefield Land, Greenland