Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
416000
416
12-Dec-1977
IBC, GGC
Upper Taylor Valley
Soil weathering examination
USGS, 1:250,000 Ross Island and Vicinity Antarctica 1986
CS Lscp & Pro
No
161.8600
-77.8183
77deg 49.1'S
-161deg -51.6'E
Art Beacon Heights, between east Beacon and West Beacon, a small alpine cirque valley; the site is located at the valley mouth on a ridge of granitic moraine, near the centre |
of the valley and on the crest of the ridge |
0
Nil
1,700
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(0o)
Patchy snow but the soil is dry
-30
Inland Mountain
Predominantly sandstone and dolerite stony till with some granite
Nil observed
Nil
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
A moderately developed cobble pavement; dolerite and sandstone clasts are subrounded, moderately ventiformed and strongly stained; some salts beneath |
surface stones |
Nil
416a 2-0cm
101
surface cobbles, pebbles and granular sand
102
particles mainly subrounded and strongly stained with some strongly altered,
416b 0-5cm
201
yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) bouldery sandy gravel
202
weakly cohesive
203
some diffuse salt flecks
204
some sandstone clasts disaggregated
205
rock particles mainly subangular and weakly stained
206
indistinct boundary,
416c 5-15cm
301
brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) bouldery sandy gravel
302
loose
303
rock particles angular and unstained
Yes
15
4
(>15cm)
Geoland
Valley mouth moraines in the Asgard Range of Wright Valley have originated from ice entering the valleys, similar to the more recent invasions of Ross tills |
into the Lower Taylor and Lower Wright Valleys; at Beacon Heights, the valley mouth moraine has a distinct granite erratic component, similar to that at New |
Mountain indicating a distant source from a large ice invasion; the local rocks are Ferrar Dolerite and Beacon Sandstone |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
41600001
6.00
41600002
61.00
41600003
45.00
41600004
41600001
41600002
41600003
41600004
thenardite, darapskite, bloedite
41600001
41600002
41600003
41600004
12-Dec-2005
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