749

Site number:

749

Authors:

IBC, GGC, DSS

Date recorded:

1994/01/12

Reason Sampled:

Soil contamination studies Vanda Station from a series of sites spaced 1m apart; to determine if contaminants are being redistributed through the soils as a result of capillary movement and evaporation of moisture

Description:

VT1 3; greywater gully, 45 m to the south east of Vanda Station buildings and at the northeastern end of the gully; the site is near the centre of the gully, 2 m to the south east of VT1 1

Altitude:

92 m

Aspect:

NW

Slope:

1 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Central Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-20 °C

Frozen ground depth:

0 cm

Frozen type:

Frozen comment:

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, of subaerial weathering; subsequent to glaciation, the terrain has been subjected to submergence and emergence from fluctuating lake water levels from Lake Vanda with some associated sorting and resorting of surface materials; bedrock is at shallow depth on the gully floor

Patterned ground:

Nil

Surface weathering or surface features:

A loose granular to small pebble unweathered pavement

Soil

Soil parent material:

Pebbly to granular sand with some boulders over granodiorite bedrock

Previous disturbance:

Site disturbance from previous activities at Vanda Station probably includes some soil contamination from greywater discharges; site under water earlier in the season

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Xerous; the soil is moist throughout, most probably as a result of seepage from rising lake waters and capillary flow from a subsurface water table

Biological activity:

None observed