PART VI 



REPORT ON ANTARCTIC SOILS 



BY 



H. I. JENSEN, D.Sc. 



These Antarctic soils, forwarded by Dr. Douglas Mawson, were submitted to me in 

 my official capacity as Assistant to the Chemical Branch of the Department of Agri- 

 culture, New South Wales, by my chief, Mr. F. B. Guthrie, F.C.S. Dr. Mawson supplied 

 the following introductory note in explanation : 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 



" These four samples of ' soils ' were the nearest approach to true soil afforded by 

 the region of South Victoria Land visited by us. The first three samples were collected 

 by myself, the last one by Mr. R. E. Priestley. 



" Numbers 1 and 2 were got from the bottom of a slight depression, some seventy feet 

 above sea-level, a quarter of a mile north-east of the Hut at Cape Royds. At that 

 spot, before reaching the coarse gravels and kenyte lava below, there is about a foot 

 of what might be called soil. The actual surface was mantled with a thin layer of 

 very uniform gravel of particles about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. The gravel 

 is the residue left after the wind has carried off the finer stuff. It appears that after 

 the gravel has accumulated to a depth of about a quarter of an inch the fine material 

 below is protected from further deflation. Samples 1 and 2 were from the same spot, 

 the former representing layers several inches below the latter. 



"Sample 3 came from a moraine mound two hundred yards nearer Blue Lake. 



"Sample 4 was collected by Priestley on the mainland of South Victoria Land, 

 in Dry Valley, on the western side of McMurdo Sound. 



" In no case was there anything in the nature of subsoil in the general acceptation 

 of the term. 



"Earth is quite a rare occurrence in South Victoria Land, for almost everywhere 

 that ice is absent, rock alone is met. Generally speaking, the earthy matter is only 

 rock-flour from ice abrasion ; thus mechanical disintegration is the rule. At the same 

 time there appears to be some chemical decay. It would appear that when depositions 

 of rock-flour have been exposed for long, that an appreciable amount of chemical 

 decomposition is effected. 



" Referring to the water-soluble constituents of these soils, however, it is to be 

 remembered that the coastal regions are likely to be impregnated with sea salts in the 

 manner detailed in other sections of this volume. 



" Some wheat was sown in a potful of a mixture of Nos. 1 and 2 of the described 

 samples.* In this experiment the wheat germinated earlier than usual and showed 

 unusual vigour and growth, demonstrating the suitability of the soil as a plant food. 



" More than usual interest attaches to the examination of these soils, coming as they 

 do from a land where practically no vegetation exists." 



GENERAL ANALYSIS 



These " soils " proved of great interest, and the results of the analyses are given in 

 the Tables A and B. 



* Experiment conducted at Adelaide. 



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