534

Site number:

534

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1988/01/09

Reason Sampled:

Soil weathering and permafrost examination

Description:

On the floor of the Towle Valley, approximately 3km southwest of the Towle Glacier; to the NE of a large snowbank; an uneven, slightly terraced, bouldery surface

Altitude:

975 m

Aspect:

Nil

Slope:

0 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Coastal Mountain, xerous to subxerous

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-24 °C

Frozen ground depth:

23 cm

Frozen type:

Hard ice-cemented

Frozen comment:

23cm

Geology

Geological setting:

Towle Valley is formed almost entirely in dolerite; the tills, moraines and soils indicate a northeasterly retreat of the Towle Glacier from the valley; land surfaces on the lower valley floor appear not to be very old but there may have been some re-working of older drift materials

Patterned ground:

Weakly developed nets; troughs up to 25cm deep

Surface weathering or surface features:

Surface boulders mainly subangular to subrounded; weakly to moderately developed pavement; moderate surface oxidation with some very slight pitting; some surface exfoliation and fretting; salt encrustations on the undersides of some surface stones

Soil

Soil parent material:

Stony dolerite till

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

4 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Recent snow cover shows evidence of widespread thaw; the soils are moist in places

Biological activity:

Yellow lichens occur in patches