566

Site number:

566

Authors:

IBC, GGGC, MRB

Date recorded:

1990/01/19

Reason Sampled:

Permafrost and soil moisture investigations

Description:

On a small rise, near the head of Scheuren and Surko Streams about 400 m west of the old Marble Point landing strip and about 300 m east of Wilson Piedmont Glacier; approximately 100 m to the north of a small ponded lake

Altitude:

75 m

Aspect:

Nil

Slope:

0 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Coastal Antarctic

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-18 °C

Frozen ground depth:

65 cm

Frozen type:

Hard ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

65cm

Geology

Geological setting:

The surface is a gently undulating till plain formed by retreat of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier; The Marble Point region is an old landscape, as evidenced by deposits of phillipsite, buried soils and oxidised gneiss, which have been covered by advances of the grounded Ross Ice Shelf; later ice retreat and glaciological features have been controlled by changes in the stranded Wilson Piedmont Glacier; the till mantle is patchy and dominated largely by locally occurring rocks

Patterned ground:

Weakly developed net

Surface weathering or surface features:

Clasts mainly unstained, angular to subangular, non ventiform, some granular disintegration of marble clasts

Soil

Soil parent material:

Sandy gravel to gravelly sand dominated by gneiss, marble and granodiorite

Previous disturbance:

Site probably undisturbed by previous construction activity but likely to have been walked over

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Oceanic subxerous

Biological activity:

Nil observed at site