The shape and the surface textures of quartz sand grains of four samples from the Cape Roberts 1 drill core (CRP-1, Western Ross Sea), were investigated by using image processing, statistic techniques, and SEM analyses. The results of this work, combined with previously published grain-size analyses, sediment structure and palaeontological information, provide additional data on sediment transport and deposition. The sample CRP1-1 from the Quaternary unit 2.1 shows characters typical of a marine ice-proximal environment, while the sample CRP-23 from the Miocene unit 6.3 was probably derived from floating ice in a marine distal setting. The sample CRP1-11 from the Miocene sandstones unit 5.4 preserves typical beach-derived features, while the sample CRP-1-16 from the sandstone unit 6.3 has characters of a gravity flow deposit.
