Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
388000
388
23-Nov-1977
IBC, GGC
Wright Valley at the Western end in the Asgard Range, at the NE end of Koenig Valley, approximately 1.7km NE of Mt Freya
Soil weathering examination
USGS, Antarctica 1:50,000 Topo. Ser. 1977 Labyrinth Antarctica
CS Pro
No
160.8370
-77.5933
77deg 35.6'S
-160deg -50.2'E
An eroded sandstone bench surface on the NE side of Koenig Valley overlain with a dolerite and sandstone cobble pavement
0
Nil
1,545
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(0o)
Snow cover from a recent fall with surface moistening to around 1cm
-30
Inland Mountain
Dolerite and sandstone over weathered sandstone and sandstone bedrock
Nil observed
Weakly developed old bedrock polygon cracks
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
cf. Notes for SURFWEA below
Nil
388a 2-0cm
101
surface cobbles and pebbles (moist) largely tabular with strong staining and pitting
102
many sand grains weakly adhering together
103
dolerite particles distinctly stained and many partly altered,
388b 0-2cm
201
yellowish brown to brownish yellow (10YR 5/8 - 6/8) granular sand
202
loose to weakly cohesive
203
sand particles mainly quartzose and with distinct surface oxide colouring
204
indistinct boundary,
388c 2-12cm
301
yellow (2.5Y 7/6) sand
302
moderately cohesive
303
sand particles rounded and only weakly stained
304
| distinct sandstone ghost splinters in an adjacent old patterned ground crack with the patterned ground crack |
| infilled with mixed sandstone and doleritic material |
305
indistinct boundary,
388d 12-20cm
401
pale yellow (2.5Y 7/6) sand
402
firmly cohesive disaggregating sandstone
403
sand particles rounded and weakly stained
404
sharp boundary, on partly altered sandstone bedrock
Yes
a,b,c,d
Bedrock frozen
20
4/5
(>20cm)
Geoland
| The Asgard Range is comprised of Beacon Sandstone and Ferrar Dolerite; the landscape is ancient with the high altitude valley cirques cut in pre-Miocene time; |
| a sandstone surface on the NE side of Koenig Valley has a veneer of dolerite and sandstone cobbles that have protected the underlying sandstone from erosion; |
| the soil section shows a nice example of bedrock fragmentation resulting from old patterned ground activity |
Surfwea
| A well developed cobble/pebble pavement of dolerite and sandstone; moderately developed ventiforms; dolerite clasts with strong staining and polish; coarse |
| grained dolerite clasts are crumbled and fine grained clasts have moderate surface pitting; surface rocks are rounded to subrounded |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
38800001
32.00
38800002
98.00
38800003
100.00
38800004
100.00
38800001
38800002
38800003
38800004
38800001
38800002
38800003
38800004
12-Dec-2005
Page 345 of 896
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