450m E of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier and 300m S of the Marble Point Air facility Buildings; on a low rocky bedrock knoll near the crest of the knoll and on a flat surface in a slight hollow
Altitude:
65 m
Aspect:
Nil
Slope:
0 °
Location Data
Observer
IBC
GGC
GPS
Yes
Latitude Longitude DMS
77° 25.10' S 163° 40.44' E
77° 25.2' S 163° 41.0' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-77.4183 163.67400
-77.4200 163.683
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.0008 0.00008
0.0008 0.008
Locality
Marble Point, western McMurdo Sound
Survey
USGS Antarctica Topographic Series 1:50,000; Marble Point, Antarctica
Climate
Soil climate zone:
Coastal Antarctic
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-18
°C
Frozen ground depth:
0 cm
Frozen type:
Frozen comment:
Geology
Geological setting:
The basement rocks at Marble Point are complex and included with the granodiorite and gneiss outcrops; in places these appear to have undergone distinct weathering which may represent the residual parts of an earlier weathering landscape
Patterned ground:
Nil
Surface weathering or surface features:
A weakly developed pavement with strongly altered material just beneath the ground surface; the weathering appears to be zoned with mixed red and brownish patches, suggesting that it may be related to mineralogical differences within the basement rock
Soil
Soil parent material:
Weathered gneissic rock
Previous disturbance:
Vehicle traffic route nearby; intermittent human visits
Nil at site but moss and cyanobacteria common in the area
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
649a
5-10cm
yellowish red (5YR 5/6) sandy to silty granule gravel; moderately cohesive; weakly developed vesicular structure; rock particles subangular, some partly altered; indistinct boundary,
649b
10-15cm
brown to light olive brown (10YR 5/3 - 2.5Y 5/4) sandy to silty gravel; weakly cohesive; rock particles mainly angular, some distinctly stained and partly altered