Described By: Cathy Seybold and Holly Goddard

Described By: Cathy Seybold and Holly Goddard

Date: January 17, 2012

Location: 77º 30’ 07.9’’ S WGS Datum

162º 03’ 53.1’’ E

Elevation: 2729 ft (832 m)

Site Description: The site is on a ridge east of Bull Pass looking over the Wright Valley (of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica).

Slope: 5%, south facing slope

Geomorphic Description: Toe slope in bowl shaped ridge on side of mountain valley

Moisture Regime: Aridic (torric) moisture regime

Natural Drainage Class: Well drained

Vegetation: None

USDA Classification: Sandy-skeletal, mixed, hypergellic Typic Haplorthels

Parent material: Aeolian over colluviums material

Climate:

Weathering Stage:

Depth to Ice-Cemented Ground: > 120 cm (did not encounter any ice cement)

Depth to Permafrost: ?

Coherence: 120 cm

Oxidation: 0

Ghosts: 0

Salts: 0 cm

Soil Description:

Depth (cm) Description

0–1 C1 Desert pavement, weathered, polished and some pitted stones and gravels with 50% grey (10YR 6/1 dry) and 50% black (10YR 2/1 dry) coarse sand (5% of surface); single grain; loose, non-cemented, non-sticky and non-plastic; noneffervescent (1N-HCl); surface stones (65 mm to 2 m) cover about 5% of surface, cobles cover about 5% of surface, and gravels cover about 85% of surface; fragment kinds are 85% granite, 10% dolerite; abrupt smooth boundary.

1–23 C2 Light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4 dry) gravelly coarse sand; single grain; loose, non-cemented, non-sticky, and non-plastic; noneffervescent (1N-HCl); 5% stones and 20% gravel; non-oxidized; finely stratified throughout; 0.7% by wt. water content; clear smooth boundary.

23–79 2Ck Light olive brown (10YR 5/3 moist) very gravelly fine sand; massive; very friable, non-sticky and non-plastic; slightly effervescent (1N-HCl); 15% stones, 15% cobbles and 20% gravel; non-oxidized; 4.0% by wt. water content; gradual wavy boundary.

79–120 2C Greyish brown (10YR 5/2 moist) very gravelly sand; non-oxidized, massive; very friable, non-sticky and non-plastic; noneffervescent (1N-HCl); 15% stones, 10% cobbles and 25% gravel, non-oxidized; 5.8% by wt. water content.