Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
890000
890
9-Dec-1999
IBC
Near Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, McMurdo Dry Valley region, Transantarctic Mountains
cf. Notes for REASON below
Lake Bonney Quadrangle, Antarctic 1:50,000 Topographic Series, USGS 1975
CS Pro & Lscp
Yes
162.8910
-77.6363
77deg 38.18'S
-162deg -53.46'E
cf. Notes for DESCR below
10
NNW
130
cf. Notes for GEOLAND below
Xerous to subxerous; a 'dry' site with no adjacent snow patches
-21
Coastal mountain;
Predominantly granite (40% 2-10cm), gneiss/schist (25% <10cm) dyke rock (15% <10cm); basalt; sandy gravel
Nil observed at site, nematodes present in adjacent soil; some green algae beneath marble clasts in the general area
Broad elongated weakly developed net, 25m across with trough width 65cm and depth 15cm
| SURFACE WEATHERING or |
| SURFACE FEATURES |
A well developed pebble pavement surface with no staining, pitting or exfoliation and only slight ventiforms; slight surface clast rounding
Possible light treading associated with the adjacent LTM monitoring site
890a 2-0cm
101
surface pebbly gravel
102
loose
103
clasts mainly subangular with some weaak surface staining
104
few carbonate coatings beneath some surface clasts
105
sharp boundary,
890b 0-2cm
201
light olive grey to pale olive (5Y 6/2 - 6/3) sandy gravel
202
loose
203
rock particles mainly subangular with some weaak surface staining
204
some carbonate coatings around larger clasts
205
diffuse boundary,
890c 2-15cm
301
light olive grey to pale olive (5Y 6/2 - 6/3) sandy gravel
302
loose
303
rock particles subangular and unstained
304
sharp boundary,
890d 15-25cm
401
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand
402
firmly cohesive and frosted
403
rock particles subangular to subrounded and unstained
404
diffuse boundary,
890e 25-30cm
501
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand to sand
502
firmly cohesive and frosted
503
rock particles dominantly subangular to subrounded and unstained
504
sharp boundary,
890f 30-33cm
601
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand
602
very hard
603
ice-cemented
604
rock particles unstained and dominantly subangular
No
Hard ice-cemented
30
1
(30cm)
Reason
| [890] Long Term Ecological Research (nematode experimental area) site investigation of soil properties; this site (LTER 7) is adjacent to Elevational Transect B |
| plot and was sampled at 2 to 4 day intervals to provide indications of spatial and temporal changes in soil moisture and physical properties |
Descr
| On the south side of Lake Hoare on the sloping valley side; on an even sloping surface just south (upslope) of LTM elevational transect B plot; adjacent ridges |
| of bouldery till separated by a smoothly sloping pebbly surface; this site was sampled immediately adjacent to LTER 7b and is designated LTER 7c |
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 and silt % generally increase |
| downwards; the landscape has a ridge and gully form and gullies have concentrations of finer textured deposits, possibly reflecting pro-glacial processes during |
| ice retreat |
| Soluble Salt |
| Concentration |
89000001
890a
2-0cm
-2
0
2.05
43.00
0.12
14.60
none
89000002
890b
0-2cm
0
2
1.99
59.00
0.20
21.90
none
89000003
890c
2-15cm
2
15
2.01
60.00
0.40
18.20
none
89000004
890d
15-25cm
15
25
1.54
94.00
2.36
6.20
none
89000005
890e
25-30cm
25
30
1.56
81.00
2.25
24.20
none
89000006
890f
30-33cm
30
33
66.00
8.91
30.10
none
12-Dec-2005
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