At Admiral Byrd Bay a bottom core 11 inches in length was obtained 

 at the edge of the bay fast ice in 2,300 meters of water. The corer 

 co\ild be felt hitting the bottom even at that depth and it is concluded 

 therefore that condi.tions were similar to those found at Atka Bay, where 

 there was a hard bottom covei^d with a thin layer of sediment. At 

 Admiral Byrd Bay, the entire core waa colored Light olive gray; sphericity 

 varied from low to low moderate at the top, low to high in the center of 

 the core, and low to high moderate at the bottom. In degree of roundness 

 the particles were angular to very angular at the top and bottom, and 

 rounded to veiy angular in the center of the core. At the top of the 

 core, surface texture of the particles was rough and polished or striated 

 and smoothj in the center it was dull and rough or polished and striated, 

 and at the bottom of the core the particles were polished and rough. The 

 sediment type at the top and bottom of the Admj.ral Byrd Bay core was 

 fine glacial till and in the center it might be called well sorted re- 

 worked glacial till. 



The percentage of sand sized particles and those of larger size was 

 3$ and h2 at the top -and bottoin of the core respectively, while in the 

 center of the core the percentage reached the higti figure of 9k percent. 

 Clay sized particles were 2$ percent of the total of the top and bottom, 

 and only 5 percent in the center of the core. Sorting in the center of 

 the core was 1,20, which was by far the best sorting coefficient ob- 

 served in the Antarctic on this cruisej sorting at the top was J4,29 and 

 at the bottom S.ijl, The amoiont of skewness in ^ units was 0,37 at the 

 top of the core, 0,30 at the center, and 0,59 at the bottom. Median 

 diameters in ^ units were as follows: top, 5»03; center, 1.95 J and 

 bottom, Ue75. 



At the top of the core the dominant material was arenaceous forami- 

 nifera x-d.th quartz secondary and feldspar also present. In the center 

 and at the bottom of the core, quartz was dominant, feldspar secondary, 

 and there were some rock fz'agment»s present. Rock fragments consisted 

 of granite, schist, and gneiss. There was a great abundance of 

 arenaceous foraminifera at the top of the core, plus some sponge 

 spicules, diatoms, and radiolarian tests. In the center of the core 

 only one test of an arenaceous foraminifera was observed, while at 

 the bottom arenaceous foraminifera, sponge spicules, and radiolaria 

 were noted, A hea'/y liquid separation made of the bottom portion of 

 the core showed the light weight sand fraction to be about 75 percent 

 of the total sediment, heavy weight sand fraction 25 percent, light 

 magnetic sand fraction 0,2 percent, and heavy magnetic sand fraction 

 2,0 percent. Organic carbon content in the Admiral Byrd Bay core was 

 low. This v/as one of the two cores taken on the cruise vjhich shoijed 

 higher organic carbon at the bottom of the core than at the top. The 

 core as a whole averaged only 0.17 percent, vjith the center showing a 

 vovy small siaount (0,01 percent), the top 0,19 percent, and the bottom 

 0,30 percent. 



5U 



