Abstract:
The soil development in the Ellsworth Mountains was studied to investigate the distribution and chemistry of the salts within the soil, the nature of the chemical weathering processes in the soils, the degree of weathering of the soils in relation to the glacial history of the area and the relation between soil processes in the Ellsworth Mountains and the TransAntarctic Mountains. Soils were investigated and sampled from the Bell Valley/Parish Peak area, Marble Hills, Beitzel Peak, Beaudoin Peak (Meyer Hills), Soholt Peaks and the Edson Hills. 23 profiles were described and sampled and > 100 samples were collected for subsequent examination.
Description:
The Ross Sea Region Soils database, run by Landcare Research, New Zealand, stores information on soil site and soil pit horizon data from 35 years of soil studies by the investigators and their associates. There are >900 sites in the database but they are currently not sorted.
Quality
This study was undertaken as part of an international multidisciplinary study of the region. All existing samples are held by Landcare Research in their Ross Sea Region Soils Database.