Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
634000
634
30-Nov-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Soil weathering examination of a rock sample on a raised beach surface
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
CS Pro
Yes
163.7280
-77.4120
77deg 24.72'S
-163deg -43.68'E
| Approximately 90m from the coast in Arnold Cove; east from the S end of the Marble Point Air Facility; just below the crest of the third from the topmost distinct beach ridge |
| surface |
8
E
15
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
A dry site, no adjacent snow or soil moistening
-18
Coastal Antarctic
Oxidised granodiorite boulder
Nil at site; moss patches and cyanobacteria are common locally
Indistinct net pattern with shallow sand-filled inactive cracks
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
cf. Notes for SURFWEA below
Human visitation with some old soil pit sites
634a 0-5cm
101
yellowish brown (10YR 5/8) disaggregated rock
102
rock particles angular and weakly stained with some partly altered
Yes
a
0
3
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, granodiorite marble with kenyite in places; some boulders are oxidised and partly crumbled |
Surfwea
| Surface boulders and cobbles rounded but subsurface clasts at lower depth are subangular; granite boulders are disintegrating and some granodiorite clasts are |
| distinctly oxidised and partly crumbly; the oxidation intensity appears to increase with proximity to the coast and may be a result of marine influence |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
63400001
63.00
71.70
12.40
7.70
2.60
1.20
1.10
0.70
2.60
63400001
5.30
0.23
8.35
2.48
1.19
0.22
9.00
3.00
0.04
63400001
3
2
4
15
4
30
15
15
5
mica-smectite 5
12-Dec-2005
Page 592 of 896
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