Fig. 17.4 Weathered rocks on a high altitude desert pavement. The
small stones that lie in pits or hollows in rocks (photo at right) are
likely to be ground around by the actions of wind and frost to gradually
enlarge the hollows and slowly wear the rock down. The polished
nature of the surface is an effect of wind abrasion and chemical
weathering known as ‘desert varnish’
Fig. 17.5 Patterned ground. The polygons are generally 5–20 m across, here accentuated by drifting snow caught in the hollows between
polygons. The deep hollows indicate ice wedges or underlying ground ice
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17 Soils in the Ross Sea Region of Antarctica