Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
138000
138
19-Jan-1965
IBC, GGC
Victoria Land, Trans-antarctic Mountains; in Upper Victoria Valley, part of the McMurdo Sound Dry Valley system
Soil characterisation
USGS 1:250 000 1986; Ross Island and Vicinity, Antarctica
B&W Pro & CS Lscp
No
161.5750
-77.3450
77deg 20.7'S
-161deg -34.5'E
| About 7km NW of Lake Vida, near the junction of Upper Victoria Valley and Barwick Valley; on a surface mapped as Vida Drift by Calkin (1964) comprising low moraine |
| ridges or loops with flat areas between; the site is on a flat surface |
0
Nil
580
| Tills in this part of Upper Victoria Valley were mapped by Calkin (1964) as Vida Drift derived from the Upper Victoria Glacier; they are marked by the occurrence of |
| numerous large sandstone boulders |
(0o)
Xerous to subxerous; the site is dry with moisture derived only from snow fall
-23
Central mountains
Bouldery till with common Beacon Group sandstone boulders
Nil observed
Weakly developed large polygonal nets
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
| Sandstone or quartzite boulders are up to 5m in diameter, are partly decomposed and have some cavernous weathering; some fragmentation of dolerite; |
| larger clasts subangular to subrounded; moderate development of a pebble pavement |
Nil
138a 0-3cm
201
light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) pebbly granular sand
202
weakly cohesive forming a weakly developed surface crust
203
moderately developed vesicular structure
204
| larger rock particles subangular and unstained with smaller quartz particles subrounded to rounded and weakly to |
| moderately stained |
205
distinct boundary,
138b 3-10cm
301
yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy pebbly gravel
302
loose
303
| larger rock particles subangular and unstained with smaller quartz particles subrounded to rounded and weakly to |
| moderately stained |
304
indistinct boundary,
138c 10-30cm
401
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy pebbly cobbly gravel with some small brighter patches around some stones
402
weakly cohesive
403
salt flecks scattered through the horizon and also some larger concentrations
404
larger rock particles subangular and unstained with smaller particles rounded and weakly to moderately stained
405
distinct boundary,
138d 30-50cm
501
brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) sandy pebbly cobbly gravel
502
loose to weakly cohesive
503
rock particles mainly subrounded to rounded and weakly to moderately stained
504
indistinct boundary,
138e 50-60cm
601
light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) sandy gravel
602
loose
603
| larger rock particles subangular and unstained with smaller particles subrounded to rounded and weakly to |
| moderately stained |
604
sharp boundary, on ice cemented ground
2-0cm
101
surface boulders, pebbles, granules and sand
102
subangular to subrounded and weakly stained,
Yes
a,b,c,d,e
Hard ice-cemented
60
3
(60cm)
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
13800001
138a
0-3cm
0
3
none
13800002
138b
4-8cm
4
8
none
13800003
138c
110-20cm
-110
20
none
13800004
138d
30-40cm
30
40
none
13800005
138e
50-55cm
50
55
none
12-Dec-2005
Page 138 of 896
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