571

Site number:

571

Authors:

IBC, GGGC, MRB

Date recorded:

1990/01/20

Reason Sampled:

Permafrost and soil moisture investigations

Description:

About 50m from the western side of the old runway, towards the northern end on a surface which has been cut and scraped for construction materials, an uneven surface with linear cut and sidecast ridges; the surface forms a hollow, about 75cm below original ground surface and probably accumulates some thaw water at times

Altitude:

75 m

Aspect:

Nil

Slope:

0 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Coastal Antarctic

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-18 °C

Frozen ground depth:

58 cm

Frozen type:

Ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

58cm

Geology

Geological setting:

The land 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:

Nil

Surface weathering or surface features:

A disturbed surface without pavement development

Soil

Soil parent material:

Greyish sandy gravel over layered brownish slightly sticky till

Previous disturbance:

Ground scraping for construction fill

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Oceanic subxerous, dry surface horizon but moist beneath

Biological activity:

Nil observed at site