Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
881000
881
7-Dec-1999
IBC
Near Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valley region, Transantarctic Mountains
Long Term Ecological Research (nematode experimental area) site investigation of soil properties; this site |
(LTER 10) was chosen for daily repeat sampling to see if there were measurable changes in soil moisture |
over the length of the sampling period |
Lake Bonney Quadrangle, Antarctic 1:50,000 Topographic Series, USGS 1975
CS Pro & Lscp
Yes
162.8870
-77.6327
77deg 37.96'S
-162deg -53.22'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
7
NW
85
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
1
15.5
5
8.9
15
2.5
23
-0.4
30
-0.8
43
-2.5
Xerous to subxerous; a dry site with no adjacent snow banks
-20
Coastal mountain
Sandy pebble gravel to sand; predominantly granite (40%) gneiss, dyke rock, dolerite and volcanic (scoria)
Nil observed at site, nematodes present in adjacent soil; some green algae beneath marble clasts in the general area
Moderately developed 20m irregular nets with 20-35cm deep troughs, 75cm wide
SURFACE WEATHERING or |
SURFACE FEATURES |
Nil surface staining, pitting and exfoliation; some clasts slightly oxidised, probably from pre-weathering; weak ventiforms and a well developed pebble |
pavement; moderate rounding; many carbonate coatings on undersides of surface clasts |
Site probably disturbed by foot traffic activity during biological research activities near the site
881a 1-0cm
101
surface pebbles, granules (43%) and sand with occasional cobbles
102
unstained
103
subangular to subrounded
104
calcium carbonate coatings beneath many clasts,
881b 0-2cm
201
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand
202
loose
203
rock particles subangular to rounded
204
carbonate coatings around larger clasts
205
diffuse boundary,
881c 2-10cm
301
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) sand with some pebbles
302
loose
303
larger rock particles subangular to subrounded and smaller particles subrounded to rounded
304
many carbonate coatings around larger clasts
305
sharp boundary,
881d 10-18cm
401
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) sand with pebbles and occasional cobbles
402
moist and cohesive
403
rock particles mainly subrounded to rounded
404
many carbonate coatings
405
sharp boundary,
881e 18-26cm
501
light olive grey (5Y 6/2 ) sand with some pebbles
502
firmly cohesive and frosted
503
rock particles rounded to subrounded
504
many carbonate coatings
505
around larger and smaller clasts
506
diffuse boundary,
881f 26-40
601
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) sand with occasional pebbles
602
moderately cohesive
603
rock particles rounded to subrounded
604
few carbonate coatings
605
sharp boundary,
881g 40-42cm
701
light olive grey to pale olive (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand
702
very hard
703
ice-cemented, on
704
hard ice-cemented ground
No
Hard ice-cemented
40
1
(40cm)
Geoland
The deposit is unweathered Ross I till, possibly derived from the Canada Glacier but almost certainly with an up-valley influence because of the presence of |
marble clasts from basement rocks; the tills may be fluvio-glacial owing to complex depositional ice-marginal processes as the sand % generally increases |
downwards while there are noticeably more coarse clasts at the surface; some weak sedimentary bedding |
Descr
Elevational transect A Plot, on the south side of Lake Hoare, approximately 100m south of Lake Hoare, and 150m east of the LTM Datalogger Plot; on the upper |
part of a shallow sloping gravelly basin surface; the sampling site was on the south and upslope side of the Elevational Transect A Plot; the area comprises |
shallow northward sloping, somewhat bouldery ridges separated by depressions with fine gravelly surfaces; this sampling site is immediately adjacent to LTER |
10a and is designated LTER 10b |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
88100001
881a
1-0cm
-1
0
2.07
50.00
0.14
18.20
none
88100002
881b
0-2cm
0
2
1.80
74.00
0.27
13.60
none
88100003
881c
2-10cm
2
10
1.70
76.00
0.83
8.10
none
88100004
881d
10-18cm
10
18
1.60
84.00
3.21
7.70
none
88100005
881e
18-26cm
18
26
1.39
89.00
4.46
9.80
none
88100006
881f
26-40cm
26
40
1.64
74.00
2.71
9.20
none
88100007
881g
40-42cm
40
42
1.72
84.00
10.05
13.20
none
12-Dec-2005
Page 856 of 896
881