Eastern end of the Brown Hills, near Diamond Hill and approximately 6km E of Diamond Glacier terminus; a small enclosed basin in an undulating glacially scoured landscape; the profile site is on the floor of the basin near the centre
Altitude:
200 m
Aspect:
Nil
Slope:
0 °
Location Data
Observer
IBC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
79° 50' S 159° 24' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-79.83 159.400
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.08 0.008
Locality
Victoria Land, Trans-antarctic Mountains; at the southern end of the Cook Mountains in the Brown Hills region of the Darwin Glacier
Survey
USGS 1:250,000 1963; Carlyon Glacier ST 57-60/13*
Climate
Soil climate zone:
Coastal mountain
Site temperature profile
Depth (cm)
Soil temp (°C)
Notes
0
2
air in the shade
0
6
soil surface
5
5
15
4
30
3
40
2
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-22
°C
Frozen ground depth:
45 > cm
Frozen type:
Frozen comment:
>45cm
Geology
Geological setting:
Granodiorite of the Granite Harbour Intrusives outcrops on low hills mainly on ridges in the glacially scoured landscape; lower slopes are largely veneered with till; the basin floor sediments have probably been partly reworked by water and frost action
Patterned ground:
Not present on the basin floor
Surface weathering or surface features:
Rock particles are unstained; salt efflorescences are present around the edge of the basin; the surface is a smooth pebble pavement
Oceanic subxerous; a water table is present in the soils at 42cm; the water is probably derived from thawing of snowpack which covers part of the basin floor
Biological activity:
Nil observed
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
115a
0
–
10
cm
light olive brown (moist 2.5Y 5/4, dry 10YR 6/3 ) pebbly gravelly sand; weakly cohesive; slightly sticky; rock particles subangular, unstained and coated with fines; indistinct boundary,
115b
12
–
22
cm
olive brown (moist 2.5Y 4/4, dry 5Y 6/3) sandy pebble gravel; loose; rock particles subangular platy and unstained; indistinct boundary,
115c
27
–
35
cm
light yellowish brown (moist 2.5Y 6/4, dry light grey 2.5Y 7/2) sandy pebble gravel; loose; rock particles subangular platy and unstained, watertable present at 42cm.