701

Site number:

701

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1993/12/30

Reason Sampled:

assessment of environmental impacts from past human activities at Vanda Station; this site was sampled at a Helo pad to determine soil contamination from Helo activities

Description:

main helo pad approximately 160m south-southwest of Vanda Station buildings; on the vehicle track to the south of the station; a broad flattish ridge surface

Altitude:

95 m

Aspect:

Slope:

0 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

coastal mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-20 °C

Frozen ground depth:

35 ~

Frozen type:

dry frozen

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:

fractured flaggy bedrock at the surface in places

Soil

Soil parent material:

shallow fragmented granodiorite

Previous disturbance:

a frequently used helicopter landing site

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

xerous; the soil surface is occasionally moistened by summer snowfalls

Biological activity: