Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
460000
460
13-Dec-1979
IBC, GGC
West Antarctica in Ellsworth Land at the southern end of the Ellsworth Mountains
Soil weathering examination
US Geological Survey, 1:250 000, 1967, Liberty Hills
CS Pro & Lscp
No
-82.0500
-80.2833
80deg 17.0'S
82deg 3.0'E
Marble Hills in the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains; approximately 4km north of Mt Fordell; on a undulating high bench adjacent to the Horseshoe Valley ice sheet; |
on an undulating landscape about 10m from the crest of a broad ridge |
4
N
1,200
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
Local snow pockets but no obvious thawing or soil moistening
-25
Inland/Coastal Mountain
Sandy to silty till of mixed lithology; marble; metasedimentary and felsitic rocks
Nil observed
Nil
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Some crumbling and disaggregation of boulders; some darker coloured rocks are strongly disaggregated; a moderately developed pavement with reduction |
of larger clasts; distinct salt encrustations beneath many surface rocks; well developed surface staining |
Nil
460a 3-0cm
101
surface cobbles pebbles and granular sand
102
subrounded to angular and distinct surface staining on larger clasts with some smaller grains partly altered,
460b 0-4cm
201
pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) sandy gravel
202
loose to weakly cohesive
203
some small salt flecks and some oxidised patches
204
a few ghosts
205
rock particles subangular to subrounded and mostly unstained
206
indistinct boundary,
460c 4-20cm
301
pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) bouldery to cobbly sandy to silty gravel
302
weakly cohesive
303
few salt flecks
304
rock particles mainly angular and weakly to non stained
305
indistinct boundary,
460d 20-30cm
401
pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) sandy gravel
402
loose few to many distinct salt flecks
403
rock particles mainly subangular and unstained
404
distinct boundary,
460e 30-42cm
501
pale yellow (2.5Y 7/4) cobbly sandy gravel
502
weakly cohesive
503
rock particles mainly angular and unstained
504
indistinct boundary,
460f 42-55cm
601
pale yellow to light grey (2.5Y 7/4 - 7/2) cobbly sandy gravel
602
loose
603
rock particles angular and unstained
604
sharp boundary,
460g 55-60cm
701
light grey (2.5Y 7/4) sandy gravel
702
firm
703
partly frozen
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f,g
Ice-cemented
55
3
(55cm)
Geoland
The Marble Hills area comprise limestone/marble bedrocks with an intermittent cover of till with predominantly sandstone, quartzite, metasedimentary and some |
ferromagnesian rich rocks; till sequences are not clearly expressed and the till which is from a non local source, may have been reworked by local ice masses; the |
higher surfaces may have somewhat older till deposits |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
46000001
9.60
46000002
62.70
24.40
13.30
11.40
9.70
11.10
28.80
0.90
0.40
46000003
30.10
37.20
15.00
10.70
7.80
15.00
13.10
0.70
0.50
46000004
57.00
44.20
15.50
9.80
6.30
13.20
9.90
0.40
0.60
46000005
58.30
38.80
17.40
10.40
6.30
10.60
15.20
0.50
0.80
46000006
57.00
39.90
17.90
9.70
6.00
8.40
17.20
0.50
0.60
46000007
26.20
51.60
16.00
10.30
5.00
3.90
11.00
1.60
0.50
46000001
46000002
7.60
1.33
0.47
7.18
0.20
0.11
0.03
7.08
0.01
46000003
7.60
1.42
1.10
4.94
0.47
0.21
0.02
5.60
0.03
46000004
7.70
1.40
1.02
3.82
0.43
0.17
0.02
4.48
0.03
46000005
7.80
0.96
1.14
2.84
0.45
0.19
0.05
2.46
0.03
46000006
7.70
0.91
0.87
2.84
0.33
0.16
0.02
2.78
0.02
46000007
7.70
0.61
2.59
0.20
0.14
0.02
3.15
0.01
46000001
46000002
46000003
55
5
15
5
15
5
46000004
40
2
15
5
5
30
3
46000005
50
5
10
5
25
2
3
46000006
55
5
25
46000007
12-Dec-2005
Page 417 of 896
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