452

Site number:

452

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1979/12/12

Reason Sampled:

Soil weathering examination

Description:

The Enterprise Hills region of the Ellsworth Mountains; on a small un-named peak at the head of Bell Valley, approximately 6km north of Parrish Pk; the sample site is on a steep lower slope of a small peak about 550m above ice levels

Altitude:

1150 m

Aspect:

S

Slope:

30 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Inland/Coastal Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-20 °C

Frozen ground depth:

15 cm

Frozen type:

Ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

15cm

Geology

Geological setting:

The Ellsworth Mountains comprise a thick sequence of folded metasedimentary rocks comprising limestones, conglomerates and quartzites dating to Precambrian; the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is believed to have fluctuated greatly in response to global sea level changes and evidence of these fluctuations should be present in the tills and soil weathering record

Patterned ground:

Nil

Surface weathering or surface features:

Surface rocks are angular pebbles to small boulders with many that have strong surface staining; some salts are present beneath surface stones

Soil

Soil parent material:

Till and slope debris from quartzitic rocks

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

6 4 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

The ground surface has a 4cm snow cover which had partly thawed moistening the surface 2cm of the soil

Biological activity:

Nil observed