Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
534000
534
9-Jan-1988
IBC, GGC
Convoy Range, Transantarctic Mountains; Towle Valley
Soil weathering and permafrost examination
Ross Island & Vicinity, Antarctica, 1:250 000 US Geological Survey, 1986
CS Pro & Lscp
No
161.7170
-76.6850
76deg 41.1'S
-161deg -43.0'E
On the floor of the Towle Valley, approximately 3km southwest of the Towle Glacier; to the NE of a large snowbank; an uneven, slightly terraced, bouldery surface
0
Nil
975
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(0o)
Recent snow cover shows evidence of widespread thaw; the soils are moist in places
-24
Coastal Mountain, xerous to subxerous
Stony dolerite till
Yellow lichens occur in patches
Weakly developed nets; troughs up to 25cm deep
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Surface boulders mainly subangular to subrounded; weakly to moderately developed pavement; moderate surface oxidation with some very slight pitting; |
some surface exfoliation and fretting; salt encrustations on the undersides of some surface stones |
Nil
534a 4-0cm
101
pebbly to bouldery pavement
102
moderately stained
103
subrounded
104
some small rock particles moderately altered,
534b 0-8cm
201
dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) sandy granular to bouldery gravel
202
very weakly cohesive
203
rock particles subangular to subrounded and moderately stained, some smaller particles partly altered
204
distinct boundary,
534c 8-23cm
301
brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) sandy granular to bouldery gravel
302
moist
303
moderately cohesive
304
some silty to clayey coatings
305
rock particles subangular, moderately stained and some partly altered
306
sharp boundary,
534d 23-28cm
401
reddish brown (5YR 4/4) sandy gravel
402
very firm, ice cemented
403
rock particles moderately to strongly stained and many distinctly altered,
534e-n 23-150cm
501
drill core samples
Yes
a,b,c,d
Hard ice-cemented
23
4
(23cm)
Geoland
Towle Valley is formed almost entirely in dolerite; the tills, moraines and soils indicate a northeasterly retreat of the Towle Glacier from the valley; land surfaces |
on the lower valley floor appear not to be very old but there may have been some re-working of older drift materials |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
53400001
53400002
57.00
71.80
22.40
4.40
0.50
0.10
0.30
0.20
0.40
53400003
49.00
72.90
21.30
4.00
0.40
0.30
0.50
0.20
0.50
53400004
57.00
77.30
11.60
4.80
2.30
1.60
1.40
0.70
0.20
53400005
53400006
53400007
53400008
53400009
53400010
53400011
53400012
53400013
53400014
53400001
53400002
7.00
0.02
53400003
7.00
0.02
53400004
6.40
0.46
0.20
1.94
1.50
0.01
1.10
3.60
0.70
53400005
53400006
53400007
53400008
53400009
53400010
53400011
53400012
53400013
53400014
53400001
53400002
53400003
53400004
53400005
53400006
53400007
53400008
53400009
53400010
53400011
53400012
53400013
53400014
12-Dec-2005
Page 492 of 896
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