The Darwin Mountains, approximately 4km SSE of the Midnight Plateau ice sheet; on the lower slopes of a narrow valley and on the southern side; on sloping and hummocky very bouldery moraine topography towards the centre of a patterned ground unit
Altitude:
1200 m
Aspect:
NW
Slope:
8 °
Location Data
Observer
IBC
GGC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
79° 59' S 156° 23' E
79° 59' S 156° 23' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-79.983 156.383
-79.983 156.383
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.008 0.008
0.008 0.008
Locality
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:
-30
°C
Frozen ground depth:
42 cm
Frozen type:
Hard ice-cemented
Frozen comment:
42cm
Geology
Geological setting:
Local rocks are Ferrar Dolerite; the lower slopes to the south of Midnight Plateau have scattered sandstone erratics indicating a former higher ice level; at lower elevation distinct moraines and till deposits include granite erratics; these indicate up-valley ice and till movement as the nearest granitic rocks are further to the east; the till at this site represents a later up-valley ice event than that of the higher elevation granitic till near site 344
Patterned ground:
Hummocky broad nets 10-15m diameter with mounds up to 1.5m
Surface weathering or surface features:
Granite clasts are moderately disaggregated; sandstone and dolerite clasts are moderately to strongly stained and partly rounded on edges; upstanding boulders to 1.2m; some splitting and weathering rhind exfoliation; slight cavernous weathering of sandstone clasts and some case hardening
Soil
Soil parent material:
Bouldery till from mixed dolerite, sandstone and granite sources
Scattered small snow patches but no thaw or soil moistening observed
Biological activity:
Nil observed
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
446a
-3
–
0
cm
surface boulders and cobbly granular sand; rocks mainly angular and moderately to non stained,
446b
0
–
3
cm
brown (7.5YR 5/4) sandy cobble gravel; weakly cohesive; rock particles angular to subangular, weakly to moderately stained and some moderately altered; distinct boundary,
446c
3
–
10
cm
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) stony gravel with some small browner oxidised patches; moderately cohesive; few to many diffuse salts; rock particles angular to subangular, weakly stained and some weakly altered; distinct boundary,
446d
10
–
23
cm
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) sandy gravel; loose; a few salt flecks; rock particles angular and non to weakly stained; a few ghosts and some bouldery clasts partly crumbled; indistinct boundary,
446e
23
–
42
cm
yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) bouldery sandy gravel; loose to weakly cohesive; rock particles subangular and unstained; sharp boundary,