Antarctic soils comprise a surface pavement and a seasonally thawed active layer over permafrost. The surface pavement is a layer of gravel, stones or boulders formed largely by weathering and the removal of the fine materials daily by wind action, and surface pavement is the active layer with depths ranging from 17 to 55 cm. The soil texture in the active layer, when not frozen and ice-cemented, is often loose and consolidated.
