458

Site number:

458

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1979/12/13

Reason Sampled:

Soil weathering examination

Description:

Marble Hills in the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains; approximately 4km north of Mt Fordell; on the southwest upper side slope of a broad gently sloping ridge which forms one side of a basin

Altitude:

1100 m

Aspect:

SW

Slope:

6 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Inland/Coastal Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-25 °C

Frozen ground depth:

30 cm

Frozen type:

Ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

30cm

Geology

Geological setting:

The Marble Hills area comprise limestone/marble bedrocks with an intermittent cover of till with predominantly sandstone, quartzite, metasedimentary and some ferromagnesian rich rocks; till sequences are not clearly expressed and the till which is from a non local source, may have been reworked by local ice masses

Patterned ground:

Weakly expressed broad nets; 20cm troughs

Surface weathering or surface features:

Light coloured surface rocks with only slight staining; small salt accumulations beneath some stones

Soil

Soil parent material:

Till of mixed lithology including sandstone, quartzite, and metamorphic; relatively fine textured and pulverulent with few boulders

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

3 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Some scattered snow patches, mainly in patterned ground cracks; no moist soils observed

Biological activity:

Nil observed