Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
647000
647
6-Dec-1991
IBC, GGC, MRB
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Soil moisture and permafrost investigaation
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
CS Lscp
Yes
163.6680
-77.4175
77deg 25.05'S
-163deg -40.08'E
4m from the north side of a small lake; 300m E of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier and 400m from the SW of the Marble Point Air Facility; a gently sloping lake edge surface
1
SW
60
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
A wet site adjacent to (4m) a small lake; the lake level fluctuates from year to year; adjacent |
lake level is 10cm below the soil surface |
-18
Coastal Antarctic
Gravelly sand from granodiorite, gneiss and marble with some lake edge sediment reworking
Moss adjacent, a cyanobacterial mat covers the surface
Nil
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Soft moist ground surface
Pond levels modified by stopbanking; vehicle traffic route nearby; intermittent human visits
647a 0-10cm
101
olive to olive grey (5Y 5/3 - 5/2) bouldery sandy gravel
102
wet
103
weakly cohesive
104
some aggregation with organic material
105
rock particles angular, some weakly stained
106
sharp boundary,
647b 10-22cm
201
drill core
202
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
203
rock particles subrounded,
647c 22-40cm
301
drill core
302
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
303
rock particles subrounded,
647d 40-50cm
401
drill core
402
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
403
rock particles subrounded,
647e 50-62cm
501
drill core
502
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
503
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
647f 62-75cm
601
drill core
602
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
603
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
647g 75-97cm
701
drill core
702
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
703
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
647h 97-109
801
drill core
802
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
803
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
647i 109-122cm
901
drill core
902
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
903
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
647j 122-140cm
1001
drill core
1002
light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) sandy gravel
1003
rock particles subangular to subrounded,
Yes
Hard ice-cemented
10
1
(10cm)
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; the sediments adjacent to the Wilson |
Piedmont Glacier have been modified by runnoff water flows and fluctuations in pond levels |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
64700001
73.00
21.67
64700002
69.00
13.93
64700003
64.00
15.10
64700004
66.00
13.26
64700005
54.00
12.26
64700006
68.00
18.38
64700007
59.00
22.93
64700008
54.00
22.81
64700009
41.00
7.67
64700010
59.00
19.21
64700001
64700002
64700003
64700004
64700005
64700006
64700007
64700008
64700009
64700010
64700001
2
34
2
65
2
13
10
smectite well-ordered
64700002
2
16
1
50
15
13
4
8
smectite well-ordered
64700003
4
7
6
38
13
12
20
6
smectite well-ordered
64700004
3
1
6
38
16
12
12
14
smectite well-ordered
64700005
5
4
15
40
9
5
13
10
smectite well-ordered
64700006
2
4
3
59
12
12
8
smectite well-ordered
64700007
8
4
8
35
12
12
17
smectite well-ordered
64700008
5
25
50
25
smectite well-ordered
64700009
5
10
40
20
10
15
smectite well-ordered
64700010
2
9
22
31
19
17
12-Dec-2005
Page 605 of 896
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