Site Information

Site number:
423
Authors:
IBC, GGC
Date recorded:
1978/11/13
Reason Sampled:
Soil weathering examination
Description:
On a low elevation hummocky young moraine surface; adjacent to a large area of thermokarst moraine alongside an ice lobe in a small side valley of the Hatherton Glacier
Altitude:
950 m
Aspect:
Nil
Slope:
0 °
Location Data
Observer IBC GGC
GPS No
Latitude Longitude DMS 79° 54.6' S 156° 50.9' E 79° 55' S 156° 49' E
Latitude Longitude DD -79.9100 156.8480 -79.92 156.817
Latitude longitude precision DD 0.0008 0.0008 0.04 0.008
Locality Darwin/Hatherton Glacier, Darwin Mountains Transantarctic Mountains
Survey United States Geological Survey 1966; 1:250,000 Carlyon Glacier Antarctica

Climate

Soil climate zone:
Central Mountain
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-25 °C
Frozen ground depth:
0 cm
Frozen type:
Frozen comment:

Geology

Geological setting:
Local rocks are Ferrar Dolerite and Beacon Sandstone; the till includes some granite which is widespread lower down the Darwin Glacier; flakey fine textured tabular pellet-like material occurs beneath some boulders and appears to be part of a precipitation process
Patterned ground:
Nil
Surface weathering or surface features:
Surface rocks are unweathered; the material on the underside of the rock resembles flattish flakey pellets

Soil

Soil parent material:
Grey flakes of silty to clayey material possibly formed by freeze drying
Previous disturbance:
Nil
Soil weathering stage:
6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)
Soil moisture status:
Patchy snow cover with some slight thawing; the material precipitated beneath the rock indicates that the site may have been previously wet
Biological activity:
Nil observed
Profile Description
HorizonDepthDescription
423a 0 – 2 cm light brownish grey (2.5Y 6/2) clayey silt forming abundant thin conchoidal flaky aggregates up to around 7.5mm diameter and peeling to very thin flakes; small salt encrustations on some edges

Sample Data

Physical Data
Sample nameDepth descriptionTop (cm)Base (cm)Bulk DensityDry Bulk DensityGravimetric MoistureVol. Moisture (BD=2)
423 0-2cm 0 2 No
Particle size distribution
Sample name< 2 mm2 - 0.5 mm0.5 - 0.25 mm0.25 - 0.1 mm0.1 - 0.05 mm0.05 - 0.02 mm0.02 - 0.002 mm< 0.002 mmFe2O3CaCO3Notes
423
Clay Mineralogy
Sample nameMicaIHMHIV - IHMICHLVTHIVCHLSMCHL SMFE - CHLHTQTZFLDHBCALNotes
423 :
National Soil Archive Samples
Sample nameNSA Sample IdContainer typeFraction type
423 M22/2575 medium mixed
423 M22/2576 large sq mixed
423 M22/7570 Glass vial metal lid

Photos

Photo record:
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