456

Site number:

456

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1979/12/12

Reason Sampled:

Soil weathering examination

Description:

The Enterprise Hills region of the Ellsworth Mountains; north of Parrish Peak near the head of a small valley to the south of Seal Glacier; on a small knoll

Altitude:

1025 m

Aspect:

NE

Slope:

4 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Inland/Coastal Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-20 °C

Frozen ground depth:

0 cm

Frozen type:

Frozen comment:

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; at this site, the till represents deposits of the Union Glacier at a former level

Patterned ground:

Nil

Surface weathering or surface features:

Some rounding of surface cobbles and boulders; a moderately developed pebble pavement; some surface disintegration and spalling and some wind scoops around larger boulders; upper surfaces distinctly stained; salts beneath some clasts and also calcium carbonate deposits

Soil

Soil parent material:

Till from quartzitic metasedimentary rocks, some greenish, blackish and brown

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

6 3 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Scattered snow patches; this site has snow drifting across the surface which is thawing on warmed surface rocks; the site is probably more moist than 455 and this may be reflected in the chemistry

Biological activity:

Nil observed