Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
639000
639
3-Dec-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Soil moisture & permafrost investigations; toposequence and landscape relationship differences; first in |
sequence |
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
CS Lscp
Yes
163.6630
-77.4127
77deg 24.76'S
-163deg -39.78'E
About 200m to the west of the northern end of the Marble Point runway and east of a small lake; a slightly hummocky low moraine ridge alongside and north of a small flat |
hollow; on the crest of the ridge; the first of a series of adjacent sites |
0
Nil
75
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
12
0.0
132
-10.1
Patchy snow on adjacent side slopes; soil surface is dry
-18
Coastal Antarctic
Sandy to silty granitic and granodioritic stony till
Some yellow lichen in patterned ground cracks; also some black dried cyanobacterial matter; some nearby moss patches
Nets 15-20m across with active cracks 20-30cm deep
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Non pavementic with predominantly small boulders and cobbles and subangular to angular; distinct oxidation and staining on some clasts may in part be |
pre-weathering |
Extensive construction, earthmoving and human activity in the late 1950's in the general area; some nearby bulldozer tracks
639a 3-0cm
101
surface cobbly to granular gravel
102
rounded to subrounded and unstained
103
a few clasts showing granular disintegration,
639b 0-6cm
201
light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) sandy pebble and cobble gravel
202
loose
203
rock particles subangular to subrounded, a few weakly stained
204
distinct boundary,
639c 6-13cm
301
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy gravel
302
weakly to moderately cohesive
303
weakly developed vesicular structure
304
rock particles subangular to subrounded, a few weakly stained
305
some carbonate coatings
306
distinct boundary,
639d 13-24cm
401
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy to silty gravel
402
firmly cohesive
403
rock particles subangular to subrounded, a few weakly stained
404
some clasts partly crumbled
405
some distinct silt coatings
406
distinct boundary,
639e 24-35cm
501
light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) sandy to silty gravel
502
firmly cohesive
503
rock particles subangular to subrounded, a few weakly oxidised
504
some distinct silt coatings
505
sharp boundary,
639f 35-49cm
601
light olive grey to light grey (5Y 6/2 - 7/2) sandy silt
602
rock particles subrounded and unstained
603
sharp boundary,
639g 49-69cm
701
drill core
702
icey light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
639h 69-89cm
801
drill core
802
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
639i 89-98cm
901
drill core
902
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
639j 98-106cm
1001
drill core
1002
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy to silty gravel,
639k 106-119cm
1101
drill core
1102
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
639l 119-126cm
1201
drill core
1202
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
639m 126-132cm
1301
drill core
1302
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
Yes
Hard ice-cemented
49
1
(49cm)
Geoland
The surface is undulating with deposits of till; the region is an old landscape of granite and granodiorite, gneiss and marble rocks; there are some old weathering |
and phillipsite deposits in the region; the till has probably come from the Wilson Piedmont Glacier and includes granodiorite, gneiss, marble and some dolerite; |
the till is silty in places and this may have resulted from postglacial fluvial activity |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
63900001
17.00
63900002
75.00
1.36
63900003
63.00
1.72
63900004
68.00
4.31
63900005
49.00
5.22
63900006
96.00
12.16
63900007
89.00
72.50
63900008
89.00
21.95
63900009
94.00
414.06
63900010
94.00
25.56
63900011
85.00
31.59
63900012
70.00
118.26
63900013
67.00
337.54
63900001
63900002
63900003
63900004
63900005
63900006
63900007
63900008
63900009
63900010
63900011
63900012
63900013
63900001
63900002
63900003
63900004
63900005
63900006
63900007
63900008
63900009
63900010
63900011
63900012
63900013
12-Dec-2005
Page 597 of 896
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