760A

Site number:

760A

Authors:

IBC,GGC,MRB,DSS

Date recorded:

1994/01/14

Reason Sampled:

Soil contamination studies at Vanda Station from a series of sites 1m apart to determine if contaminants are moving through moist soils;

Description:

VT3 A; a smooth gently sloping surface at the edge of Lake Vanda approximately 200m southwest of Vanda Station near the head of a small embayment; the site was chosen as an undisturbed reference site for comparison with two contaminated sites from greywater gully; samples were collected from 8 sites, 1m apart, commencing at the lake edge and passing through the wetting front into dry soil beyond

Altitude:

600 m

Aspect:

S

Slope:

8 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Central Mountain

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-24 °C

Frozen ground depth:

0 cm

Frozen type:

Frozen comment:

Geology

Geological setting:

The rocks of the valley area are granodiorites cut by lamprophyre dykes and form a strongly undulating ridge and gully topography as a result of ice over riding from up-valley and down-valley glaciations; subsequent to glaciation, the area adjacent to Lake Vanda has been subjected to submergence and emergence from fluctuations in lake water levels and consequent sorting and resorting of the surface materials

Patterned ground:

Surface weathering or surface features:

A smooth surface with a well developed gravel pavement

Soil

Soil parent material:

Sandy pebble to boulder gravels reworked by fluctuating levels of Lake Vanda

Previous disturbance:

Minimal human disturbance; unlikely to have been subjected to any significant chemical contamination

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

The soil ranges from saturated at the lake edge to dry 5.5m away beyond the edge of the wetting front

Biological activity:

None observed