Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
640000
640
4-Dec-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Soil moisture & permafrost investigations; toposequence and landscape relationship differences; second in |
sequence |
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
Cs Lscp & Pro
Yes
163.6630
-77.4128
77deg 24.77'S
-163deg -39.78'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
7
S
73
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
10
0.0
179
-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 20cm 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
640a 3-0cm
101
surface cobbly to granular gravel
102
rock particles subrounded to subangular, some with light staining
103
a few green algal masses
104
some carbonate coatings,
640b 0-5cm
201
olive (5Y 5/3) gravelly sand
202
loose
203
rock particles subangular, some with weak staining
204
some distinct carbonate coatings
205
distinct boundary,
640c 5-22cm
301
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy gravel
302
loose
303
rock particles subangular, some weakly stained
304
some distinct carbonate coatings
305
distinct boundary,
640d 22-30cm
401
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy gravel
402
weakly to moderately cohesive
403
rock particles subangular, some weakly stained and partly altered (relict)
404
some distinct carbonate coatings
405
sharp boundary,
640e 30-45cm
501
light yellowish brown (2.5Y 6/4) sandy to silty gravel
502
firm to very firm rock particles subangular
503
weakly developed vesicular structure
504
indistinct boundary,
640f 45-50cm
601
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy to silty gravel
602
very firm
603
moderately developed vesicular structure
604
rock particles subangular
605
sharp boundary,
640g 50-66cm
701
drill core
702
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
640h 66-82cm
801
drill core
802
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
640i 82-91cm
901
drill core
902
light grey (5Y 7/1) sandy to silty gravel,
640j 91-95cm
1001
drill core
1002
light grey (5Y 7/2) sandy to silty gravel,
640k 95-120cm
1101
drill core
1102
pale olive (5Y 6/3) sandy to silty gravel,
640l 120-138cm
1201
drill core
1202
light grey (5Y 7/1) sandy to silty gravel,
640m 138-154cm
1301
drill core
1302
light grey (5Y 7/1) sandy to silty gravel,
640n 154-179cm
1401
drill core
1402
light grey (5Y 7/1) sandy to silty gravel,
Yes
Hard ice-cemented
50
1
(50cm)
Descr
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; just below the crest of the ridge on the south slope and approximately 15m from site 639 |
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 |
64000001
14.00
64000002
60.00
0.79
64000003
65.00
1.74
64000004
59.00
3.13
64000005
68.00
5.36
64000006
65.00
5.95
64000007
56.00
13.29
64000008
95.00
74.73
64000009
25.00
52.42
64000010
9.00
12.50
64000011
49.00
24.27
64000012
42.00
17.38
64000013
52.00
20.12
64000014
38.00
13.52
64000001
64000002
64000003
64000004
64000005
64000006
64000007
64000008
64000009
64000010
64000011
64000012
64000013
64000014
64000001
64000002
64000003
64000004
64000005
64000006
64000007
64000008
64000009
64000010
64000011
64000012
64000013
64000014
12-Dec-2005
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