Approximately 9 km WSW of Larsen Crag, on the south west side of Greenville Valley, on an undulating gully-like surface, and on the south side of a small knoll formed by a ridge of dolerite and 10 m from a ridge crest
Altitude:
1300 m
Aspect:
W
Slope:
4 °
Location Data
Observer
GGC
IBC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
76° 46.6' S 160° 44.5' E
76° 45.6' S 160° 48.9' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-76.7767 160.742
-76.7600 160.8150
Latitude longitude precision DD
0.0008 0.004
0.0008 0.0008
Locality
Greenville Valley, southwest of Northwind Glacier in the Convoy Range
Survey
not recorded
Climate
Soil climate zone:
Central Mountain
Site temperature profile
Depth (cm)
Soil temp (°C)
Notes
0
1
surface,
5
2
10
-2
20
-2.5
30
-5
40
-6
50
-7
60
-8
70
-8
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-27
°C
Frozen ground depth:
10 cm
Frozen type:
Dry frozen
Frozen comment:
10cm
Geology
Geological setting:
Greenville Valley comprises mainly dolerite with some minor sedimentary rocks (Weller Coal Measures) and has been formed by ancient ice over riding the Convoy Range from the west; valley-head wall deposits occur mainly around the south-western side of the valley and represent alpine glacial deposits; towards the western end of Greenville Valley, the surface is a dolerite platform with a thin irregular till cover but with occasional sandstone and decomposed granite erratics; on the lower surfaces which slope and drain towards the north-east, till deposits are more extensive, have more strongly developed patterned ground and have a greater abundance of pink granite erratics
Patterned ground:
Not present at site
Surface weathering or surface features:
Strong staining with polish and pitting of finer grained surface dolerite clasts, coarse grained dolerites crumbled; some dolerite boulders cavernously weathered; weakly ventiform; salts beneath some surface stones
Soil
Soil parent material:
Thin weathered doleritic & sandstone(Weller Coal Measure) drift over fragmented bedrock; much fine fraction appears to be subrounded quartz grains
Xerous to sub xerous; several snowfalls and a recent fall within 36 hours; most snow cover removed by ablation but some soil moistening in the upper few centimetres; no liquid flows
Biological activity:
Occasional yellow and green lichen in rock fissures and some patches of black lichen
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
805a
-2
–
0
cm
surface cobbles, pebbles, and granular sand; mod. developed pavement of subrounded & pitted strongly stained fine grained dolerite, & pebbles & granules of disaggregated coarser grained dolerite,
805b
0
–
3
cm
dark reddish brown (5YR 3/4) sandy pebble gravel; moist; loose to slightly cohesive; rock particles subangular to subrounded with many strongly stained and altered; distinct boundary,
805c
3
–
6
cm
yellowish red (5YR 5/6) sandy gravel; profuse salt horizon of variable thickness; moderately cohesive and salt cemented; rock particles mainly subangular with many disaggregating and some ghosts; sharp boundary,
805d
6
–
25
cm
yellowish red (5YR 5/8) bouldery sandy gravel fragmented bedrock; moist; moderately cohesive; diffuse salts precipitating on drying soil surfaces; smaller rock particles stained and strongly altered with larger particles unstained but disaggregating; diffuse boundary,
805e
25
–
35
cm
yellowish red (5YR 5/8) bouldery sandy gravel fragmented bedrock; fine fraction mainly in cracks between disaggregated clasts; profuse salt accumulations around some boulders; smaller rock particles rounded and strongly stained; sharp boundary,
805f
35
–
65
cm
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) bouldery sand infilling cracks formed by ice fracturing of bedrock; moist; indistinct boundary,
805g
65
–
75
cm
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) sand infilling cracks in bedrock