Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
768000
768
19-Jan-1994
IBC,GGC,MRB,DIC
Beacon Heights, on the south side of Upper Taylor Glacier between East and West Beacon
Permafrost and soil moisture investigations for comparison with soils from moist coastal regions
not recorded
CS Pro & Lscp
No
160.8400
-77.8283
77deg 49.7'S
-160deg -50.4'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
5
S
1,800
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(5o)
Xerous; some snow falls in winter and summer months but most is lost through ablation or by |
blowing away; there are snow remnants in patterned ground cracks |
-30
Central Mountain
Bouldery to cobbly sandy gravel till derived from sandstones and dolerite; a few weathered granite fragments are present
Only endolithic algae observed below the surface of sandstone boulders or outcrops
Polygons are approximately 20m across with 15cm deep troughs but appear inactive
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Staining of dolerite and sandstone clasts varies from weak to very strong; the pavement is dominantly subrounded cobble and granular clasts many of which |
are polished and pitted; salts occur beneath some surface stones |
Nil
768a 3-0cm
101
surface cobbles and pebbles
102
subrounded and moderately to strongly stained and some polished clasts
103
moderately developed pavement surface
104
768b 0-6cm
201
strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) cobbly to bouldery sand
202
weakly to moderately cohesive
203
a few salt patches
204
rock particles rounded to subrounded, strongly stained and some strongly altered
205
indistinct boundary,
768c 6-11cm
301
strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) cobbly to bouldery silty sand
302
weakly to moderately cohesive
303
weakly developed diffuse salt horizon
304
large rock particles mainly subangular and weakly stained but some smaller particles strongly altered
305
indistinct boundary,
768d 11-22cm
401
brownish yellow to yellowish brown (10YR 6/6 - 5/4) sandy silty cobbly gravel
402
weakly to moderately cohesive
403
some scattered salts
404
some sandstone and dolerite ghosts
405
rock particles mostly subangular and unstained
406
indistinct boundary,
768e 22-30cm
501
brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) cobbly to bouldery silty to sandy gravel
502
weakly cohesive
503
larger rock particles subangular and unstained but some small particles distinctly altered
504
some diffuse patches of darker oxidised soil
505
indistinct boundary,
768f 30-50cm
601
brownish yellow (10YR 6/6) cobbly to bouldery sandy gravel
602
loose
603
larger rock particles mainly subangular and unstained
604
sharp boundary
768g 50-55cm
701
light yellowish brown (10YR 6/3) very hard ice-cemented, drill core samples in ice-cemented ground
768h 55-71cm
801
] pale brown (10YR 6/3),
768i 71-85cm
901
] pale brown (10YR 6/3)
768j 85-101cm
1001
] pale brown (10YR 6/3) drilling tube lost in the hole
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j
dry frozen over hard ice-cemented
5
5
(~ 5cm)
Descr
Near the centre and towards the south of the valley floor surface between East and West Beacon on an old undulating till surface about 1.2km southeast of West |
Beacon and 1.8km west-northwest of East Beacon; the valley floor surface is uneven and is marked by a series of small ridges and hollows |
Geoland
Local outcropping rocks are Ferrar Dolerite and Beacon Sandstone; the till at this site comprises predominantly dolerite and sandstone but the till has probably |
come from multiple glaciations with thin accessions of till; till lithology appears to represent locally derived rocks and is bouldery to cobbly; |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
76800001
768a
3-0cm
-3
0
25.00
0.54
none
76800002
768b
0-6cm
0
6
85.00
1.33
none
76800003
768c
6-11cm
6
11
88.00
1.58
none
76800004
768d
11-22cm
11
22
83.00
1.41
none
76800005
768e
22-30cm
22
30
84.00
1.42
none
76800006
768f
30-50cm
30
50
74.00
1.69
none
76800007
768g
50-55cm
50
55
63.00
13.75
none
76800008
768h
55-71cm
55
71
30.00
8.57
none
76800009
768i
71-85cm
71
85
none
76800010
768j
85-101cm
85
101
50.00
34.22
none
76800001
25.00
0.54
76800002
85.00
1.33
76800003
88.00
1.58
76800004
83.00
1.40
76800005
84.00
1.42
76800006
74.00
1.69
76800007
63.00
13.75
76800008
30.00
8.57
76800009
47.00
16.47
76800010
50.00
34.22
76800001
76800002
76800003
76800004
76800005
76800006
76800007
76800008
76800009
76800010
76800001
76800002
76800003
76800004
76800005
76800006
76800007
76800008
76800009
76800010
12-Dec-2005
Page 745 of 896
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