Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
613000
613
19-Nov-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
| Permafrost and soil moisture examinations and soil temperature recording; a datalogger with 6 temperature |
| probes to 65cm depth was installed at this site for continuous recording over several years; the teemperature |
| records are available |
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
Cs Lscp & Pro
Yes
163.6710
-77.4155
77deg 24.93'S
-163deg -40.26'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
3
SW
75
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
| Upper soil horizons were slightly moist alongside a small retreating snow patch in a small |
| adjacent hollow |
-18
Coastal Antarctic
Stony till with 70-80% coarse material from predominantly granitic rocks
Mosses in moist hollows and incipient water channels; cyanobacteria in ponded areas; nil observed at the site
Weakly developed 12-15m nets with 10cm troughs; cracks are open
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
Coarse clasts angular but with slight abrasion; coarse grained granite and marble are crumbly; some basement rocks with distinct surface oxidation
Extensive mechanical and human activity in the region since the mid-1950's
613a 3-0cm
101
surface granular to bouldery gravel
102
angular and dominantly unstained
103
some light grey (2.5Y 7/2) carbonate coatings,
613b 0-3cm
201
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy pebble and cobble gravel
202
loose
203
rock particles angular and unstained but some with light pre-oxidation
204
distinct boundary,
613c 3-15cm
301
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy pebble and cobble gravel
302
loose to weakly cohesive
303
slightly moist
304
a few carbonate coatings and some silt coatings
305
rock particles angular and unstained
306
indistinct boundary,
613d 15-35cm
401
pale olive (5Y 6/3) cobbly gravel
402
firm
403
frosted
404
some silt coatings
405
rock particles angular to subangular and unstained
406
distinct boundary,
613e 35-50cm
501
pale olive (5Y 6/3) bouldery gravel
502
firm
503
frosted
504
some silt coatings
505
rock particles angular and unstained
506
sharp boundary,
613f 50-56cm
601
drill core
602
light grey (2.5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
613g 56-69cm
701
drill core
702
light grey (2.5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
613h 69-87cm
801
drill core
802
light grey (2.5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
613i 87-99cm
901
drill core
902
light grey (2.5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
613j 99-110cm
1001
drill core
1002
light grey (2.5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
613k 110-130cm
1101
drill core
1102
pale yellow to olive yellow (2.5Y 7/4 - 6/6) sandy to silty gravel
1103
some rock particles partly altered,
613l 130-148cm
1201
drill core
1202
pale yellow to olive yellow (2.5Y 7/4 - 6/6) sandy to silty gravel
1203
some rock particles partly altered,
613m 148-156cm
1301
drill core
1302
pale yellow to olive yellow (2.5Y 7/4 - 6/6) sandy to silty gravel
1303
some rock particles partly altered,
613n 156-163
1401
drill core
1402
pale yellow to olive yellow (2.5Y 7/4 - 6/6) sandy to silty gravel
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m
Hard ice-cemented
70
1
(70cm)
Descr
| Approximately 4.2km NW of Marble Point peninsula and approximately 300m W of the Marble Point Air Facility; about 400m from the Wilson Piedmont |
| Glacier; a slightly hummocky moraine surface with low knolls up to about 2m high; the site is on a gentle slope below the crest of the knoll |
Geoland
| The surface is a gently undulating till plain formed by retreat of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier; the Marble Point region is an old landscape, with deposits of |
| phillipsite, buried soils and oxidised gneiss, which have been covered by advances of the grounded Ross Ice Shelf; later ice retreat and glaciological features |
| have been controlled by changes in the stranded Wilson Piedmont Glacier; the till mantle is patchy and dominated largely by locally occurring rocks; |
| granodiorite, granite, marble, gneiss, and dolerite are the main rock types present; slightly weathered material occurs at 110cm depth |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
61300001
18.00
25.80
15.10
28.20
21.50
6.50
2.30
0.40
0.30
61300002
58.00
20.10
13.80
34.40
21.60
6.00
2.90
1.00
0.30
1.34
61300003
47.00
29.70
20.20
25.70
14.10
6.00
3.00
0.90
0.40
4.27
61300004
28.00
39.60
20.90
19.50
9.90
5.10
3.40
1.20
0.40
3.22
61300005
30.00
39.40
17.30
17.70
11.10
7.40
3.70
3.10
0.40
3.49
61300006
63.00
18.90
14.20
17.90
13.40
11.30
12.60
11.30
0.40
5.89
61300007
54.00
17.70
11.60
14.90
12.10
13.10
18.30
11.70
0.70
5.89
61300008
45.00
17.10
12.50
16.90
13.80
14.60
15.40
8.90
0.80
17.53
61300009
41.00
10.40
9.80
15.60
14.40
17.10
19.70
12.40
0.60
13.51
61300010
40.00
14.10
8.90
13.50
12.50
17.20
18.40
14.90
0.40
14.67
61300011
53.00
27.70
11.60
12.60
10.70
14.30
12.50
7.50
3.20
20.19
61300012
40.00
24.20
8.70
11.90
12.00
15.90
15.00
10.30
2.10
16.48
61300013
59.00
22.80
8.20
10.80
13.50
15.90
15.90
8.80
4.20
38.86
61300014
41.00
12.70
6.80
7.30
9.60
20.30
27.80
13.30
2.20
10.96
61300001
8.80
0.95
4.00
1.06
0.43
0.26
3.80
0.60
0.05
61300002
9.90
1.45
5.10
0.84
0.27
0.12
5.40
1.50
0.05
61300003
9.90
0.34
2.70
0.40
0.11
0.19
1.40
0.10
61300004
9.60
0.25
2.00
0.70
0.26
0.10
0.80
0.20
61300005
9.50
0.28
2.20
2.79
0.75
0.16
1.10
0.10
61300006
8.90
0.62
2.90
1.83
0.39
0.24
2.70
0.20
0.05
61300007
8.60
0.70
2.70
1.93
0.50
0.20
3.30
0.20
1.20
61300008
8.90
0.40
2.00
3.05
0.40
0.28
1.40
0.50
0.01
61300009
9.60
0.75
6.70
3.36
0.60
0.47
2.80
0.70
0.01
61300010
9.50
1.10
5.30
0.16
0.09
0.17
4.20
0.70
0.01
61300011
9.20
0.85
5.00
0.13
0.09
0.19
3.60
0.60
0.01
61300012
8.80
1.20
6.10
0.42
0.24
0.21
5.80
0.40
61300013
8.60
1.00
5.00
0.79
0.26
0.13
4.30
0.40
61300014
8.40
0.95
3.90
0.99
0.40
0.26
3.80
0.90
61300001
20
10
15
15
5
short range order 40
61300002
20
5
15
12
12
6
61300003
20
5
5
15
10
15
5
short range order 20
61300004
25
5
10
15
15
5
short range order 25
61300005
20
10
5
25
10
10
15
5
61300006
40
5
10
20
10
10
5
61300007
35
2
10
3
10
15
10
10
3
61300008
15
2
3
35
10
15
15
5
smectite well ordered
61300009
5
2
60
5
10
15
3
beidellite
61300010
21
1
1
75
10
10
2
61300011
3
2
55
10
12
15
5
61300012
3
5
50
10
15
15
2
61300013
30
5
2
20
10
3
10
2
61300014
30
5
5
10
15
15
short range order 20
12-Dec-2005
Page 571 of 896
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