undulating valley floor with ridge and hollow topography formed by ice retreat from Victoria Valley; ridges are less than 5 m high and swales are broad; the site is on the north east side of a small rise within a gently undulating hollow with moderate boulder cover
Altitude:
550 m
Aspect:
SE
Slope:
3 °
Location Data
Observer
IBC
GGC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
77° 21.9' S 161° 35.9' E
77° 22.0' S 161° 36.5' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-77.3650 161.5980
-77.367 161.608
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.0008 0.0008
0.008 0.004
Locality
Lower Barwick Valley near its junction with the Victoria Valley, about 500 m southeast of a small lake and approximately 5.5 km northwest of Lake Vida
Survey
not recorded
Climate
Soil climate zone:
Coastal Mountain
Site temperature profile
Depth (cm)
Soil temp (°C)
Notes
1
3
5
-0.3
10
-2.5
15
-3.3
20
-3.6
30
-2.8
40
-3.2
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-23
°C
Frozen ground depth:
50 cm
Frozen type:
hard ice-cemented
Frozen comment:
50cm
Geology
Geological setting:
Till from Victoria Valley appears to have entered the Barwick Valley as a result of quite extensive ice movement up the Barwick Valley, judged by moraine lines and clasts within the till; the till comprises a wide mixture of clasts, including sandstones, dolerite and basement rocks; the lack of significant weathering indicates a relatively youthful age; some layering in the till suggests either multiple glacial advances or some reworking of the deposits .
Patterned ground:
patchy and weakly developed
Surface weathering or surface features:
weak surface staining on dolerite and sandstone surface clasts on unabraided surfaces; some sandstone clasts crumbled; distinct abrasion on up-wind surfaces; some weak wind polish; ventifact formation weak to moderate; on larger clasts in the area, some cavernous weathering and sculpture while fragmentation is common
Subxerous; lower soil horizons slightly moist but dry quickly on exposure to air; some slight moistening of the soil surface after light snow fall; scattered small snow patches
Biological activity:
none observed
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
782a
-1 – 0 cm
surface pavement of occasional cobbles and many pebbles; weakly ventiform and weakly stained; larger clasts mostly subrounded to subangular,
782b
0 – 2 cm
light yellowish brown (10YR 6/4) gravelly sand; loose; rock particles subrounded and weakly stained; distinct boundary,
782c
2 – 10 cm
yellowish brown to light yellowish brown (10YR 5/4-6/4) gravelly sand; weakly cohesive; rock particles subrounded and weakly stained but some partly crumbled; distinct boundary,
782d
10 – 20 cm
light yellowish brown to yellowish brown (10YR 6/4-5/4) sandy granule and pebble gravel; moderately cohesive; rock particles subrounded and non to weakly stained; distinct boundary,
782e
20 – 30 cm
light yellowish brown to yellowish brown (10YR 6/4-5/4) granular sand; moderately cohesive; slightly moist; rock particles subrounded and non stained; indistinct boundary,
782f
30 – 50 cm
light yellowish brown to yellowish brown (10YR 6/4-5/4) granular sand; moderately cohesive; slightly moist; rock particles subrounded and non stained; sharp boundary,
782g
50 – 55 cm
light yellowish brown to yellowish brown (10YR 6/4-5/4) granular sand; very hard and ice cemented; on ice cemented ground