Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
776000
776
21-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
160.8330
-77.8233
77deg 49.4'S
-160deg -50.0'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
7
NE
1,775
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; a light fall of snow covering the ground at the time of description |
-30
Central Mountain
Bouldery to cobbly gravelly sand; some finer patches of strongly oxidised material in the profile
Only endolithic algae observed below the surface of sandstone boulders or outcrops
Weakly developed polygons but larger and deeper cracks on the moraine ridge nearby
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Dark brown stained, polished and pitted dolerite rocks forming a cobble and boulder pavement; a small sand wedge present in the surface 10cm; some salts |
beneath surface stones |
Nil
776a 4-0cm
101
surface pebbles, cobbles bolders and granular sand
102
rounded to subrounded
103
and strongly stained
104
many small particles strongly altered
105
weakly developed pavement,
776b 0-3cm
201
brown (7.5YR 5/4) cobbly to bouldery granular sandy gravel
202
weakly cohesive
203
weakly to moderately developed vesicular structure
204
rock particles subangular to subrounded and moderately stained with some yellowish red (5Y 5/8) weathering |
zones around a few clasts |
205
distinct boundary,
776c 3-15cm
301
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) granular cobbly to bouldery gravel
302
loose
303
few fine salt flecks
304
rock particles angular to subangular, weakly to moderately stained and smaller particles moderately altered
305
indistinct boundary,
776d 15-28cm
401
yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) granular bouldery to pebbly sandy gravel
402
loose
403
rock particles angular to subangular and weakly stained but smaller particles are distintly altered
404
sharp boundary, drill core samples in ice-cemented ground
776e 28-37cm
501
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4)
776f 37-52cm
601
light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4)
776g 52-67cm
701
light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4)
776h 67-77cm
801
776i 77-87cm
901
776j 87-105cm
1001
776k 105-120cm
1101
Yes
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j
a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j
hard ice-cemented
28
5
Descr
On the western side of the valley, near the highest part of the moraine ridge and hollow complex; 4m away from a bouldery moraine ridge and at the top end of a |
sloping hollow in a shallow depression, 1m deep and 25m wide; about .75k due east of East Beacon and 2km northwest of east Beacon |
Geoland
Local outcropping rocks are Ferrar Dolerite and Beacon Sandstone; the till at this site is similar to most of the valley floor tills being dominated by dolerite and |
sandstone but some foreign rocks, possibly crystalline basement, are present indicating a till source from outside the valley; the tills are probably older then the |
granodioritic up-valley till at the mouth of the valley; the surface may have been over ridden by ice leaving very thin or negligible till behind |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
77600001
776a
4-0cm
-4
0
28.00
1.05
none
77600002
776b
0-3cm
0
3
47.00
1.07
none
77600003
776c
3-15cm
3
15
51.00
1.46
none
77600004
776d
15-28cm
15
28
54.00
1.50
none
77600005
776e
28-37cm
28
37
66.00
12.03
none
77600006
776f
37-52cm
37
52
46.00
12.01
none
77600007
776g
52-67cm
52
67
51.00
15.83
none
77600008
776h
67-77cm
67
77
47.00
13.75
none
77600009
776i
77-87cm
77
87
65.00
34.03
none
77600010
776j
87-105cm
87
105
66.00
39.20
none
77600011
776k
105-120cm
105
120
64.00
32.34
none
77600001
28.00
1.05
77600002
47.00
1.07
77600003
51.00
1.46
77600004
54.00
1.50
77600005
66.00
12.03
77600006
46.00
12.01
77600007
51.00
15.83
77600008
47.00
13.75
77600009
65.00
34.03
77600010
66.00
39.20
77600011
64.00
32.34
77600001
77600002
77600003
77600004
77600005
77600006
77600007
77600008
77600009
77600010
77600011
77600001
77600002
77600003
77600004
77600005
77600006
77600007
77600008
77600009
77600010
77600011
12-Dec-2005
Page 753 of 896
776