Soils of Taylor Dry Valley, Victoria Land, Antarctica, with notes on soils from other localities in Victoria Land

Abstract

Abstract A map and descriptions of the soils of Taylor Dry Valley, Victoria Land, Antarctica, are presented. Soils from Hallett Station, Ross Island, and other places around McMurdo Sound are briefly described and compared with those of Taylor Dry Valley. The role of the soil-forming factors and the nature of the soil.forming processes in Victoria Land is discussed. Soils on “normal sites” (e.g., on slightly elevated gentle slopes on moraine or similar parent material) may be regarded as zonal soils. They are virtually lithochromic, coarse textured, structureless, and without humic horizons. Two groups are recognised: (a) Those in arid Taylor Dry Valley, which have a surface or subsurface layer slightly to moderately cemented with calcium carbonate or gypsum and are underlain at depths of about 12 in. by frozen ground. (b) Those outside Taylor Dry Valley, e.g., at Hallett Station and Ross Island and also at high elevations; more moisture is available, probably from more frequent summer snowfalls, and soluble materials are distributed throughout the soils and do not form surface crusts. Soils with much moisture and those rich in organic matter are classed as intrazonal.