Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
769000
769
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
160.8550
-77.8300
77deg 49.8'S
-160deg -51.3'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
1
N
1,850
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(1o)
95
-9.0
sb934.htm#769_Soilmois
-30
Central Mountain
Bouldery to cobbly sandy gravel till derived mainly from dolerite but with some sandstone
Only endolithic algae observed below the surface of sandstone boulders or outcrops
Nil on the gully floor but weakly developed on the gully sides
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
| Cobbles and boulders have an olive rather than a reddish brown surface colour and exfoliation is well developed, particularly on coarser textured dolerite |
| clasts; the pavement is well developed; salt deposits are formed over some dolerite clasts |
Nil
769a 3-0cm
101
surface pebbles and cobbles
102
rounded to subrounded moderately stained and exfoliated,
769b 0-3cm
201
brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy bouldery gravel
202
loose to weakly cohesive
203
rock particles mainly subangular and weakly stained but many are strongly altered and disaggregating
204
some salt flecks
205
distinct boundary,
769c 3-15cm
301
brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) bouldery to pebbly sandy gravel
302
slightly moist
303
moderately cohesive
304
rock particles mainly subangular and unstained but some fragmented and altered
305
distinct boundary,
769d 15-25cm
401
brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/4) bouldery gravel with some sand
402
slightly moist
403
abundant salt accumulations on rock fracture faces
404
rock particles angular to subangular, unstained with larger clasts strongly disaggregating
405
indistinct boundary,
769e 25-50cm
501
dark brown (7.5YR 4/4-3/2) bouldery gravel consisting mainly of disaggregating dolerite boulders
502
abundant salt accumulations on some rock fracture faces
503
rock particles angular to subangular and unstained with larger clasts strongly disaggregating
504
indistinct boundary,
769f 50-70cm
601
brown to dark brown (10YR 4/4) bouldery gravel
602
loose
603
rock particles angular to subangular, unstained but partly altered and some crumbled
604
indistinct boundary,
769g 70-90cm
701
dark yellowish brown to yellowish brown (10YR 4/6-5/8) bouldery gravel
702
loose
703
rock particles subangular and unstained but partly altered
704
indistinct boundary,
769h 90-110cm
801
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) bouldery gravel
802
loose
803
rock particles subangular, unstained and moderately to strongly altered
804
indistinct boundary,
769i 110-125cm
901
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/6) bouldery gravel
902
loose
903
some salt accumulations on rock faces
904
rock particles subangular to angular, unstained and moderately to strongly altered
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i
dry frozen
5
4/5
(~ 5cm)
Descr
| On the southeast side of the valley on a higher part of the valley floor surface, West Beacon on an old undulating till surface about 1.7km southeast of West |
| Beacon and 1.2km west-northwest of East Beacon; the site is on the floor of a small elongated gully, the floor of which is about 15m across |
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 |
Soilmois
| Xerous; some snow falls in winter and summer months but most is lost through ablation or by blowing away; there are snow some significant snow remnants |
| within 5m; the ground surface has a paler appearance than elsewhere which may indicate that the site may have been moist in the past |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
76900001
769a
3-0cm
-3
0
58.00
0.63
none
76900002
769b
0-3cm
0
3
90.00
0.91
none
76900003
769c
3-15cm
3
15
60.00
2.46
none
76900004
769d
15-25cm
15
25
49.00
2.69
none
76900005
769e
25-50cm
25
50
47.00
2.77
none
76900006
769f
50-70cm
50
70
39.00
1.52
none
76900007
769g
70-90cm
70
90
39.00
1.32
none
76900008
769h
90-110cm
90
110
40.00
1.48
none
76900009
769i
110-125cm
110
125
43.00
1.53
none
76900001
58.00
0.63
76900002
90.00
0.91
76900003
60.00
2.46
76900004
49.00
2.69
76900005
47.00
2.77
76900006
39.00
1.52
76900007
39.00
1.32
76900008
40.00
1.48
76900009
43.00
1.53
76900001
76900002
76900003
76900004
76900005
76900006
76900007
76900008
76900009
76900001
76900002
76900003
76900004
76900005
76900006
76900007
76900008
76900009
12-Dec-2005
Page 746 of 896
769
