Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
553000
553
20-Jan-1988
IBC, GGC
Royal Society Range; Transantarctic Mountains
Soil weathering examination
Ross Island & Vicinity, Antarctica, 1:250 000 US Geological Survey, 1986
CS Pro & Lscp
No
163.4500
-78.1833
78deg 11.0'S
-163deg -27.0'E
Walcott Bay, to the northeast of the Howchin Glacier; approximately 1km east of the Howchin Glacier on a long ridge surface; a rocky knoll about 10m below the crest of the |
ridge |
3
SW
800
Basement rock is gneiss; on some ridge surfaces till is thin or absent; there is strong physical disaggregation along the joint planes which are nearly vertical
(3o)
Oceanic subxerous; snow is patchy on the ridge surface; the site is dry but the soil is moist |
below the surface |
-23
Coastal Antarctic
Disaggregating and fractured gneissic bedrock with sand infilling along fracture planes
Some green algae in patches beneath light coloured rocks
Nil
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Strong joint plane surface crumbling and disaggregation; some weak to moderate surface staining; carbonate coatings beneath some clasts; sand infilling in |
cracks may aide bedrock fragmentation through wedging processes |
Nil
553a 2-0cm
101
surface stones, dominantly tabular forming a moderately developed pavement
102
larger rock particles angular to subangular and non to weakly oxidised
103
smaller particles mainly subrounded and unoxidised,
553b 0-19cm
201
dark greyish brown (10YR 4/2) granular sand in fractured bedrock clefts
202
loose
203
some carbonate and a few silt coatings
204
rock particles varied petrologically
205
mainly subrounded and unstained
206
distinct boundary,
553c 19-45cm
301
very dark greyish brown (2.5Y 3/2 moist) sand with some fragmented bedrock in bedrock clefts
302
moderately cohesive
303
smaller particles mainly rounded to subrounded and unstained
304
sharp boundary, on hard ice-cemented ground
Yes
a,b,c
45
2
(45cm)
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
55300001
55300002
55300003
55300001
55300002
55300003
55300001
55300002
55300003
12-Dec-2005
Page 511 of 896
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