Ross Sea Region Soil Sites
914000
914
14-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
914a 1-0cm
101
surface pebbles, granules and sand with occasional cobbles
102
unstained
103
subangular to subrounded
104
calcium carbonate coatings beneath many clasts,
914b 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,
914c 2-10cm
301
light olive grey (5Y 6/2) gravelly sand
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,
914d 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,
914e 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,
914f 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,
914g 40-44cm
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 |
10c and is designated LTER 10d |
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 |
91400001
914a
1-0cm
-1
0
2.08
42.00
0.18
17.70
none
91400002
914b
0-2cm
0
2
1.73
80.00
0.61
16.30
none
91400003
914c
2-10cm
2
10
1.62
65.00
2.16
9.90
none
91400004
914d
10-18cm
10
18
1.53
76.00
3.34
10.10
none
91400005
914e
18-26cm
18
26
1.63
80.00
3.87
12.10
none
91400006
914f
26-40cm
26
40
1.46
88.00
5.37
10.40
none
91400007
914g
40-44cm
40
44
89.00
9.82
14.40
none
12-Dec-2005
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