Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
630000
630
29-Nov-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Soil moisture and permafrost investigation; examination on beach ridge surfaces of differing ages
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
CS Lscp & Pro
Yes
163.7290
-77.4112
77deg 24.67'S
-163deg -43.74'E
| Approximately 200m from the coast in Arnold Cove; ENE from the S end of the Marble Point Air Facility; on the uppermost clearly defined raised beach surface; a hummocky |
| narrow ridge surface on the crest of the ridge |
0
Nil
30
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
121
-10.5
| A dry site with no thaw seepages; residual snow in adjacent hollows; no soil moistening |
| evident |
-18
Coastal Antarctic
Weakly sorted sandy bouldery gravel of mixed lithology
Nil at site; moss patches and cyanobacteria are common locally
Hummocky rectangular nets, 3m across with 25cm deep troughs
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
cf. Notes for SURFWEA below
Human visitation with some old soil pit sites
630a 3-0cm
101
surface boulders and sandy gravel
102
rounded to subrounded and dominantly unstained,
630b 0-6cm
201
pale olive to olive (5Y 6/3 - 5/3) sandy gravel
202
loose to weakly cohesive
203
rock particles mainly subangular, unstained and weakly disintegrating
204
distinct wavy boundary,
630c 6-26cm
301
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy pebble and cobble gravel
302
loose
303
larger rock particles subangular but smaller particles subrounded, a few partly oxidised
304
indistinct boundary,
630d 26-48cm
401
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy pebble gravel
402
weakly cohesive
403
frosted
404
rock particles subangular to subrounded, a few with some oxidation
405
sharp boundary,
630e 48-55cm
501
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy gravel
502
very firm
503
ice cemented
504
some shell fragments
505
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
630f 55-78cm
601
drill core
602
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy gravel
603
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
630g 78-87cm
701
drill core
702
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy gravel,
630h 87-100cm
801
drill core
802
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy gravel,
630i 100-118cm
901
drill core
902
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy gravel,
630j 118-121cm
1001
drill core
1002
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy gravel, overlies clean ice
Yes
Hard ice-cemented
48
1
(48cm)
Geoland
| The Marble Point beach ridges are a well defined set of raised beaches; they are though to have formed due to isostatic uplift; the age may range from 10,000 |
| years; the lithology is mixed granite, gneiss, marble with kenyite in places; surface boulders are well rounded but clasts below the surface are subangular; sorting |
| due to beach processes may only have been superficial |
Surfwea
| Surface clasts are subrounded; numerous pebbles and cobbles showing some oxide staining on all sides; some exfoliation and fragmentation; very strong |
| granular disintegration of marble; the near coastal (salty) environment appears to encourage more extensive surface oxidation |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
63000001
25.00
63000002
49.00
0.41
63000003
38.00
0.71
63000004
47.00
1.56
63000005
32.00
7.64
63000006
76.00
19.22
63000007
88.00
26.58
63000008
92.00
29.98
63000009
82.00
31.87
63000010
122.87
63000001
63000002
63000003
63000004
63000005
63000006
63000007
63000008
63000009
63000010
63000001
63000002
63000003
63000004
63000005
63000006
63000007
63000008
63000009
63000010
12-Dec-2005
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