Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
541000
541
13-Jan-1988
IBC, GGC
Convoy Range, Transantarctic Mountains; Towle Valley
SITE KEY
SITE NO
REASON SAMPLED
DATE RECORDED
AUTHORS
Permafrost examination
DESCRIPTION
Ross Island & Vicinity, Antarctica, 1:250 000 US Geological Survey, 1986
MAP SURVEY
CS Lscp
PHOTO RECORD
No
160.7500
/
-76.6750
LAT LONG
76deg 40.5'S
-160deg -45.0'E
/
Lat/Long (deg)
]
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
ALTITUDE (m)
GEOLOGICAL 
SETTING
0
SLOPE (deg)
Nil
ASPECT
975
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(0o)
TEMPERATURE  (degC)
DEPTH (cm)
0
10.0
 10/Jan/88:9am
surface
0
6.0
 10/Jan/88:3pm
surface
0
-7.5
 10/Jan/88:8pm
surface
0
10.0
 10/Jan/88:12noon
surface
0
-8.0
 10/Jan/88:12midnight
surface
1
9.0
 10/Jan/88:3pm
 
1
-5.0
 10/Jan/88:12midnight
 
1
6.0
 10/Jan/88:12noon
 
1
6.0
 10/Jan/88:9am
 
1
-2.0
 10/Jan/88:8pm
 
5
3.5
 10/Jan/88:3pm
 
5
0.5
 10/Jan/88:8pm
 
5
5.0
 10/Jan/88:9am
 
5
5.0
 10/Jan/88:12noon
 
5
-3.0
 10/Jan/88:12midnight
 
12
0.0
 10/Jan/88:12midnight
 
12
3.0
 10/Jan/88:9am
 
12
3.0
 10/Jan/88:12noon
 
12
0.5
 10/Jan/88:8pm
 
12
1.0
 10/Jan/88:3pm
 
20
0.5
 10/Jan/88:3pm
 
20
1.5
 10/Jan/88:9am
 
20
2.0
 10/Jan/88:12noon
 
20
0.5
 10/Jan/88:8pm
 
20
0.5
 10/Jan/88:12midnight
 
Some surface snow cover; recent snow fall with some surface soil moistening
SOIL MOISTURE STATUS
-24
Est MAT (degC)
Coastal Mountain, xerous to subxerous
SOIL CLIMATE ZONE
Stony dolerite till
SOIL PARENT MATERIAL
Lichens present
BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY
Weakly developed nets; troughs up to 25cm deep
PATTERNED GROUND
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
PREVIOUS DISTURBANCE
Nil
PROFILE DESCRIPTION
0-15cm
101
 dark brown (7.5YR 3/2) sandy granular to bouldery gravel
Part
102
 very weakly cohesive
Part
103
 some silty to clayey coatings on rock particles
Part
104
 rock particles subangular to subrounded and moderately stained, some smaller particles partly altered
Part
105
 distinct boundary,
Part
541a-i 15-141
201
 drill core samples
Part
202
 not described
Part
Yes
SAMPLES
Hard ice-cemented
FROZEN TYPE
15
FROZEN GROUND DEPTH(cm)
4
SOIL WEATHERING STAGE
(15cm)
Notes:
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; some soils are ice-cemented close to the ground surface
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Seive
Size
VolMoisture  
Drill Vol
VolMoisture  
(BD=2)
Soluble Salt 
Concentration
Gravimetric 
Moisture
Particle 
Size
Dry Bulk
Density
Bulk
Density
Base
(cm)
Top
(cm)
Depth 
description
Sample
name
Sample
Key
Physical Data:
 
 
 
Notes
Grav.
MCont
Fe2O3
PartSize
<0.002
PartSize
0.02-0.002
PartSize
0.05-0.02
PartSize
0.1-0.05
PartSize
0.25-0.1
PartSize
0.5-0.25
PartSize
2-0.5
PartSize
<2mm
Sample 
Key
Particle Size
54100001
54100002
54100003
54100004
54100005
54100006
54100007
54100008
54100009
 
 
 
Notes
NO3
meq/100g
SO4
meq/100g
Cl
meq/100g
K
meq/100g
Mg
meq/100g
Ca
meq/100g
Na
meq/100g
EC
mmho/cm
pH
Solution Chemistry:
Sample 
Key
54100001
54100002
54100003
54100004
54100005
54100006
54100007
54100008
54100009
 
 
 
CAL
HB
FLD
QTZ
HT
FE 
CHL
SM
CHL
HIV
VT
ICHL
HIV 
IHM
IHM
MICA
Notes
Sample 
Key
Clay Mineralogy:
54100001
54100002
54100003
54100004
54100005
54100006
54100007
54100008
54100009
12-Dec-2005
Printed on
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541