Ross Sea Region Soil Sites

Pram Point, Scott Base

For determination of sources and levels of soil contaminants around Scott Base

SS14 T3; 8m southwest of the pump shed and 1.5m from the wet lab on a disturbed fill surface

cf. Notes for GEOLAND below

Xerous to subxerous; the soil is moist below the surface

SOIL MOISTURE STATUS

Fill materials from local volcanic materials formed for the purpose of landsurface reshaping and general landscaping

SOIL PARENT MATERIAL

SURFACE WEATHERING or

SURFACE FEATURES

Some small salt efflorescences; foreign materials include wood fragments, nails and various other debris

PREVIOUS DISTURBANCE

The land surface has been reshaped for the purpose of landscaping and improving accessibility around Scott Base

surface pebbles and cobbles, foreign materials and salt accumulations,

dark greyish brown to brown (10YR 4/2-5/3) sandy cobble gravel

brown to dark brown (7.5YR 4/2) scoria cobble and boulder gravel

strong smell of fuel

sharp boundary, on hard compacted ice-cemented ground

FROZEN GROUND DEPTH(cm)

SOIL WEATHERING STAGE

The materials comprise volcanics of the McMurdo Volcanics Formation mainly as scoriaceous lava flows; the surface materials are a thin cover of mainly

fractured bedrock with addition of some glacially derived granular and pebble clasts from outside the immediate area; the volcanic bedrock has been

considerably fractured by patterned ground freeze thaw; the surface age is probably very late Pleistocene (Ross Sea Glaciation) having been modified by

McMurdo Sound filling glacial ice

Vol. Moisture

Drill Vol

Vol. Moisture

(BD=2)

Soluble Salt

Concentration

Gravimetric

Moisture

Part. Size

0.02-0.002

Part. Size

0.05-0.02