Correlations of history Victoria Land Coast soil surveys and soil chemistry and surveys of the soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Wright, Victoria and Taylor Valleys)

The soils of the McMurdo Dry Valleys were examined by the NZ Soil Bureau as early as 1959 with an extensive survey of the Taylor Valley. Further areas of the Victoria Land Coast from as far south as the Shackleton Glacier to as far north as Cape Hallett, including the Victoria Valley was investigated in the 1964-65 season. A traverse of the Scott Glacier from the Polar Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf was completed during the 69-70 season. The Wright Valley soils were investigated by several other parties with the establishment of Vanda Station. This study sought to correlate the results obtained by other workers with those obtained during the NZ Soil Bureau investigations above which covered most of the Ross Dependency. Soils were examined in the surrounding areas of Lake Bonney, a small lake above the Rhone Glacier, an alpine type glacier in the Asgard range, the Taylor Valley near the snout of the Taylor Glacier, the Upper Taylor Glacier near Arena Valley area (a small unnamed snow free valley east of Arena Valley), the valley on the north side of the Asgard Range, the labyrinth area of the Wright Valley, Vanda Station and to the Mt Erebus crater to examine the hydrothermally heated soils. 500lbs of rock were sampled and analysed. The survey made it possible to link up the 1959 survey of the Taylor Valley and the 1965 survey of the Victoria Valley, and to correlate the results of detailed surveys made by other workers with those made by the NZ Soil Bureau. Weathering stages in the soils of the McMurdo Sound region were identified and corresponding events in the glacial history of Antarctica were identified.