Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
471000
471
17-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, Union Glacier
CS Lscp & Pro
No
-83.7167
-79.8250
79deg 49.5'S
83deg 43.0'E
In the Edson Hills on the southwest side of the Schanz Glacier; about 1km southwest of Lester Peak; the site is about 30m below the top of a limestone knoll outcrop on an |
upper side slope, where a patchy till cover overlies marble bedrock |
12
S
1,400
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
Isolated snow pockets but no adjacent snow or soil moisture
-25
Inland/Coastal Mountain
Thin till over partly weathered phyllitic marble; the till includes dolerite, sandstone, quartzite, and marble
Nil observed
No patterned ground but some minor indication of slope creep
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Dolerite clasts are well stained and have some small pits; polish and varnish distinct on some fine grained rocks; some phyllitic rocks well oxidised; some |
exfoliation of weathering rhinds |
Nil
471a 4-0cm
101
surface granular sand, pebbles cobbles and small boulders
102
larger clasts with distinct staining
103
smaller particles weakly stained and subangular
104
salts beneath some surface stones,
471b 0-2cm
201
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy to silty cobble gravel
202
loose
203
a few fine salt flecks
204
rock particles angular and non stained to weakly stained
205
distinct boundary,
471c 2-22cm
301
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy gravel
302
weakly cohesive
303
a few fine salt flecks
304
some phyllitic rock particles disaggregated
305
rock particles angular and a few with some weak alteration
306
sharp boundary,
471d 22-23cm
401
light grey (10YR 7/1) crumbled phyllitic bedrock
402
loose
403
diffuse salts
404
rock particles tabular and unstained but a few partly altered
405
indistinct boundary,
471e 22-25cm
501
light grey (10YR 7/1) crumbled phyllitic bedrock
502
moderately cohesive
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f
25
3
(>25cm)
Geoland
The Ellsworth Mountains comprise a thick sequence of folded metasedimentary rocks comprising limestones, conglomerates and quartzites dating to |
Precambrian; the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is believed to have fluctuated greatly in response to global sea level changes and evidence of these fluctuations should |
be present in the tills and soil weathering record; the Edson Hills are predominantly metasedimentary rocks including marble; tills are more consistent on lower |
slopes but patchy on upper slopes |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
47100001
9.70
47100002
41.50
33.30
15.70
13.40
10.00
8.80
16.10
2.00
0.70
47100003
48.80
20.80
15.90
16.40
10.80
10.10
21.90
3.10
0.80
47100004
66.20
10.20
24.70
24.40
9.90
7.60
20.40
2.00
1.00
47100005
51.10
26.70
15.20
12.40
6.00
3.00
35.00
1.00
0.70
47100006
6.60
29.80
18.00
20.00
7.90
4.20
17.70
1.50
1.00
47100007
47100001
47100002
7.40
1.45
0.88
6.83
0.27
0.25
0.05
9.12
0.01
47100003
7.30
1.62
1.12
6.98
0.30
0.22
0.05
9.20
0.02
47100004
7.40
1.80
0.45
10.25
0.12
0.09
0.02
16.65
47100005
7.20
1.80
0.37
11.47
0.10
0.10
0.05
13.16
47100006
7.30
2.10
0.34
13.29
0.11
0.08
0.03
14.66
47100007
gypsum
47100001
47100002
40
25
5
3
5
20
2
47100003
55
2
10
5
3
5
20
47100004
90
5
5
47100005
65
1
5
3
2
20
2
3
47100006
60
3
2
2
20
3
47100007
12-Dec-2005
Page 428 of 896
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