assessment of environmental impacts from past human activities at Vanda Station; sampled for indications of contamination from greywater disposal at a greywater disposal site
Description:
22m southeast of the Vanda Station Mess building on sloping site forming part of the upper side slope of an elongated gully; a greywater disposal site, 6.1m downslope from site 685
Altitude:
93 m
Aspect:
SE
Slope:
10 °
Location Data
Observer
IBC
GGC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
77° 31.64' S 161° 40.14' E
77° 0.0' S 161° 40.0' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-77.52730 161.66900
-77.000 161.667
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.00008 0.00008
0.008 0.008
Locality
Vanda Station, Wright Valley at the eastern end of Lake Vanda
Survey
not recorded
Climate
Soil climate zone:
central mountain
Site temperature profile
Depth (cm)
Soil temp (°C)
Notes
2
8.3
30
1.5
40
-0.5
58
-0.7
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-20
°C
Frozen ground depth:
35 cm
Frozen type:
weakly ice cemented
Frozen comment:
35
Geology
Geological setting:
the rocks of the area are granodiorites that have been cut with lamprophyre dykes and form a strongly undulating ridge and gully topography as a result of ice over riding from down-valley and up-valley glaciations and to a lesser extent, subaerial weathering; subsequent to glaciation, the terrain has been subjected to drowning and emergence from fluctuating lake levels from Lake Vanda with some sorting or resorting of surficial materials
Patterned ground:
Surface weathering or surface features:
a bouldery to pebbly pavement with angular unstained surface rocks showing some wind abrasion
Soil
Soil parent material:
fractured granodiorite and windblown sand
Previous disturbance:
the surface has been heavily disturbed by base activities; this site has received runoff from the disposal of greywater
xerous; the soil surface is occasionally moistened by summer snowfall; there is some moisture present below 17cm in the soil; this may be residual greywater
Biological activity:
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
686a
-2
–
0
cm
surface pavement of bouldery to pebbly granular sand; rock particles angular to subangular and unweathered; some foreign particles; sharp boundary,
686b
0
–
3
cm
brown (10YR 5/3) bouldery sandy gravel; cohesive; weakly developed platy structure; rock particles angular and unweathered; distinct boundary,
686c
3
–
18
cm
brown (10YR 5/3) bouldery to pebbly granular sand; weakly cohesive; rock particles angular and unweathered; diffuse boundary,
686d
18
–
37
cm
pale brown (10YR 6/3) bouldery sand; slightly moist and weakly cohesive; fragmented angular boulders with sand infilling the fissures; distinct boundary,
686e
37
–
56
cm
pale brown (10YR 6/3) sand (10%) infilling fractured bedrock; moderately cohesive and moist on thawing; rock particles interlocked, angular and unweathered, on fractured granodiorite bedrock.