Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
621000
621
23-Nov-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Soil water rate of loss investigation
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
CS Lscp
Yes
163.6610
-77.4153
77deg 24.92'S
-163deg -39.66'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
4
N
65
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
| The soil is moist adjacent to the small snow patch which was retreating; as the snow front |
| retreated, soils on the transect line became dry |
-18
Coastal Antarctic
Sandy gravel till from predominantly granitic rocks
Nil at site; moss patches and cyanobacteria are common locally
Weakly developed 20m nets; 5cm troughs with active open cracks
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
A predominantly pebble gravel pavement; non to weakly stained
Extensive mechanical and human activity in the region since the mid-1950's
621a 0-5cm
101
23/11/91
102
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
103
loose
104
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained and some partly altered
105
some carbonate coatings
106
a few foreign organic particles,
621b 0-5cm
201
24/11/91
202
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
203
loose
204
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
205
some carbonate coatings,
621c 0-5cm
301
25/11/91
302
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
303
loose
304
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
305
some carbonate coatings,
621d 0-5cm
401
26/11/91
402
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
403
loose
404
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
405
some carbonate coatings,
621e 0-5cm
501
27/11/91
502
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
503
loose
504
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
505
some carbonate coatings,
621f 0-5cm
601
28/11/91
602
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
603
loose
604
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
605
some carbonate coatings,
621g 0-5cm
701
29/11/91
702
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
703
loose
704
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
705
some carbonate coatings,
621h 0-5cm
801
30/11/91
802
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
803
loose
804
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
805
some carbonate coatings,
621i 0-5cm
901
1/12/91
902
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
903
loose
904
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
905
some carbonate coatings,
621j 0-5cm
1001
2/12/91
1002
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
1003
loose
1004
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
1005
some carbonate coatings,
621k 0-5cm
1101
3/12/91
1102
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
1103
loose
1104
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
1105
some carbonate coatings,
621l 0-5cm
1201
4/12/91
1202
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
1203
loose
1204
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
1205
some carbonate coatings,
621m 0-5cm
1301
5/12/91
1302
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
1303
loose
1304
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
1305
some carbonate coatings,
621n 0-5cm
1401
6/12/91
1402
pale olive (5Y 5/3) sandy gravel
1403
loose
1404
rock particles subangular with a few weakly stained
1405
some carbonate coatings
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
0
1
Descr
| Approximately 4.6km NW of Marble Point peninsula and W of the Marble Point Air Facility; about 100m from the Wilson Piedmont Glacier; on a surface |
| adjacent to a small thawing snow patch; the samples were collected daily on a transect line parallel to and 1m distance from the thawing snow front, to measure |
| the rate at which water was lost from the soil after being moistened by thee adjacent thawing snow |
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 |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
62100001
11.79
62100002
45.00
7.34
62100003
68.00
8.16
62100004
64.00
5.46
62100005
79.00
6.36
62100006
80.00
5.84
62100007
63.00
4.86
62100008
65.00
4.97
62100009
56.00
3.93
62100010
59.00
2.50
62100011
64.00
3.60
62100012
79.00
4.42
62100013
63.00
2.17
62100014
55.00
0.80
62100001
62100002
62100003
62100004
62100005
62100006
62100007
62100008
62100009
62100010
62100011
62100012
62100013
62100014
62100001
62100002
62100003
62100004
62100005
62100006
62100007
62100008
62100009
62100010
62100011
62100012
62100013
62100014
12-Dec-2005
Page 579 of 896
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