27

Site number:

27

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1964/11/03

Reason Sampled:

Soil characterisation

Description:

A fan slope near the coast which merges with a raised beach on the eastern side of Redcastle Ridge; the surfaces are cut by small drainage channels and the profile site located on the floor of a stream channel

Altitude:

10 m

Aspect:

N

Slope:

3 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Coastal Antarctic

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-15 °C

Frozen ground depth:

20 cm

Frozen type:

Hard ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

20cm

Geology

Geological setting:

Deposits on low surfaces near the coast are fluvially worked volcanic materials from adjacent outcrops of McMurdo Volcanics; beach deposits nearest the coast merge into and are overlain by less well sorted and rounded material

Patterned ground:

Few weakly developed patterned ground cracks

Surface weathering or surface features:

Some salt coatings on a few surface cobbles

Soil

Soil parent material:

Young stream alluvium derived from basalt flow, scoria and tuffite; partly sorted and rounded

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Oceanic subxerous, soil moisture derived from occasional snowfalls and from periodic stream flows

Biological activity:

Nil observed