688

Site number:

688

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1992/12/26

Reason Sampled:

assessment of environmental impacts from past human activities at Vanda Station; sampled for indications of fuel contamination in the soils at a fuel storage site

Description:

80m south southwest of the Vanda buildings near a fuel storage area; the soil surface looks to have been fuel stained but may only be moist

Altitude:

92 m

Aspect:

SE

Slope:

3 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

central mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-20 °C

Frozen ground depth:

35 ~

Frozen type:

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:

the pavement is a pebble and granule surface

Soil

Soil parent material:

granular pebbly sand over fractured bedrock with sand infillings in fissures

Previous disturbance:

strongly disturbed by vehicle and foot traffic activity

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

xerous; the soil surface is occasionally moistened by summer snowfall;

Biological activity: