755e

Site number:

755e

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:

VT2 e; second traverse commencing 6m from the lake edge at the mouth of greywater gully, approximately 50m east of the Vanda Station buildings; 8 samples collected at 1m intervals from near the lake edge, in a westerly direction across the wetting front

Altitude:

93 m

Aspect:

SE

Slope:

6 °

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 pavement between common granodiorite and lamprophyre surface cobbles

Soil

Soil parent material:

Cobbly granular sand over granodiorite bedrock

Previous disturbance:

Disturbance from previous activities at Vanda Station includes trampling and some accumulation of foreign materials

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Xerous; the soil is saturated by rising lake waters near the lake edge but is dry 8m away at the up-slope sample site

Biological activity:

None observed