Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
897000
897
10-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
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
897a 1-0cm
101
surface pebbles, granules (38%) and sand (62%) with occasional cobbles
102
unstained
103
subangular to subrounded
104
calcium carbonate coatings beneath many clasts,
897b 0-2cm
201
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand (>2mm 32% <2mm 68%)
202
loose
203
rock particles subangular to rounded
204
carbonate coatings around larger clasts
205
diffuse boundary,
897c 2-10cm
301
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand (>2mm 32%, <2mm 68%)
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,
897d 10-18cm
401
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) sand with some pebbles and occasional cobbles
402
moist and cohesive
403
rock particles mainly subrounded to rounded
404
many carbonate coatings
405
sharp boundary,
897e 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,
897f 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,
897g 40-45cm
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)
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 |
10b and is designated LTER 10c |
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 |
Soluble Salt |
Concentration |
89700001
897a
1-0cm
-1
0
2.04
45.00
0.12
15.10
none
89700002
897b
0-2cm
0
2
1.93
70.00
0.26
18.70
none
89700003
897c
2-10cm
2
10
1.80
74.00
0.89
8.30
none
89700004
897d
10-18cm
10
18
1.62
85.00
2.27
6.50
none
89700005
897e
18-26cm
18
26
1.61
87.00
2.81
6.00
none
89700006
897f
26-40cm
26
40
1.61
84.00
4.03
6.60
none
89700007
897g
40-45cm
40
45
88.00
10.03
9.30
none
12-Dec-2005
Page 872 of 896
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