Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
771000
771
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
160.8720
-77.8233
77deg 49.4'S
-160deg -52.3'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
7
NW
1,860
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
(7o)
Xerous; some snow falls in winter and summer months but most is lost through ablation or by |
blowing away |
-30
Central Mountain
Bouldery to cobbly sandy gravel till derived from dolerite and sandstone with some layered low density silty textured material; larger clasts are mainly dolerite
Only endolithic algae observed below the surface of sandstone boulders or outcrops
Nil
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
The boulder and cobble pavement is well developed; oxidation and polish of dolerite clasts is strong; clasts are subrounded and many are pitted; salts occur |
beneath surface stones |
Nil
771a 4-0cm
101
surface pebbles, cobbles and boulders
102
subrounded to subangular
103
moderately to strongly stained
104
weakly developed pavement
105
some smaller rock particles strongly altered,
771b 0-4cm
201
brown (7.5YR 5/4) pebbly to bouldery sandy gravel
202
moderately to strongly cohesive
203
moderately developed vesicular structure
204
rock particles subrounded and stained but some quartz particles unstained
205
distinct boundary,
771c 4-15cm
301
yellowish red (5YR 5/6) sandy pebble and cobble gravel
302
moderately cohesive
303
abundant salt small salt flecks
304
rock particles mainly subangular and weakly stained but some moderately altered
305
indistinct boundary,
771d 15-30cm
401
light brown to pink (7.5YR 6/4-7/4) silty cobble to boulder gravel
402
weakly to moderately cohesive
403
low density
404
rock particles subrounded to subangular, weakly stained and some partly altered
405
indistinct boundary,
771e 30-40cm
501
light brown (7.5YR 6/4) bouldery gravel with patches of siltyish faintly mottled silty soil
502
moderately cohesive
503
rock particles mainly subangular and non to weakly stained
504
distinct boundary,
771f 40-65cm
601
light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) bouldery sandy gravel
602
loose
603
rock particles angular to subangular and non to very weakly stained
604
sharp boundary
605
drill core samples in ice-cemented ground
771g 65-79cm
701
] light brownish grey (10YR 6/2)
771h 79-88cm
801
] light brownish grey (10YR 6/2)
771i 88-98cm
901
] light brownish grey (10YR 6/2)
771j 98-104cm
1001
] light brownish grey (10YR 6/2)
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i (multip
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i (multip
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i (multip
dry frozen over hard ice-cemented
5
5
(~ 5cm)
Descr
On the southeast side of the valley on a higher part of the valley floor surface, towards the mouth of the valley; approximately 1.8km east of West Beacon and |
1.6km north-northwest of East Beacon; a broad high bench surface possibly formed from older moraines; the surface is relatively smooth with fewer boulders |
than elsewhere |
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 but some finer |
layers are present which might be old volcanic ash; the landscape morphology is complex and the site may be on older till complexes |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
77100001
771a
4-0cm
-4
0
26.00
0.63
none
77100002
771b
0-4cm
0
4
58.00
1.55
none
77100003
771c
4-15cm
4
15
36.00
2.94
none
77100004
771d
15-30cm
15
30
28.00
2.80
none
77100005
771e
30-40cm
30
40
28.00
3.60
none
77100006
771f
40-65cm
40
65
54.00
1.27
none
77100007
771g
65-79cm
65
79
30.00
9.42
none
77100008
771h
79-88cm
79
88
30.00
11.91
none
77100009
771i
88-98cm
88
98
32.00
6.39
none
77100010
771j
98-104cm
98
104
37.00
5.14
none
77100001
26.00
0.63
77100002
58.00
1.55
77100003
36.00
2.94
77100004
28.00
2.80
77100005
28.00
3.60
77100006
54.00
1.27
77100007
30.00
9.42
77100008
30.00
11.91
77100009
32.00
6.39
77100010
37.00
5.14
77100001
77100002
77100003
77100004
77100005
77100006
77100007
77100008
77100009
77100010
77100001
77100002
77100003
77100004
77100005
77100006
77100007
77100008
77100009
77100010
12-Dec-2005
Page 748 of 896
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