Analysis of salt deposits, soil profiles and soil chemistry from the Darwin Glacier region to determine the glacial history of the area

The areas visited include Mt Ash, Diamond Hill, Westhaven Menatak, peak 2421 (at the head of the Hatherton Glacier), a peak 4 miles southwest of Mt Ash in the Darwin Mountains and a ridge 4km west of Derrick Peak on the south side of the Hatherton Glacier. 33 soil profiles were described and sampled and over 200 samples were collected for subsequent examination.

The chemistry of the salt horizons was analysed. In two localities it was possible to study a sequence of soils from the oldest at the summit of a peak to the youngest alongside the present level of the Hatherton Glacier. From a study of the salt content of the soils of these sequences, it should be possible to study variations of salt chemistry with age, altitude and distance from the Ross Ice Shelf.