Approximately 10.5km SW of Larsen Crag, at the head of Greenville Valley, about 200m from outcrops of the Weller Coal Measures Formation; the surface is part of an extensive almost flat surface forming the head of the valley but which has minor undulations about 1m high resulting from ice scouring; the profile site is 20m W of site 809 on the side of a shallow swale
Altitude:
1400 m
Aspect:
W
Slope:
6 °
Location Data
Observer
GGC
IBC
GPS
No
Latitude Longitude DMS
76° 46.6' S 160° 44.5' E
76° 46.3' S 160° 45.1' E
Latitude Longitude DD
-76.7767 160.742
-76.7717 160.7520
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
-0.6
Surface,
5
-0.5
10
-3.4
20
-5.5
Estimated mean annual temperature:
-27
°C
Frozen ground depth:
0 cm
Frozen type:
Hard frozen
Frozen comment:
ice cement at 25cm
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 with occasional sandstone and decomposed granite erratics; on the lower surfaces which slope and drain towards the north-east, tills deposits are more extensive, have more strongly developed patterned ground and have a greater abundance of pink granite erratics; at this site dolerite and sedimentary rocks intermix in narrow bands and form a mosaic on the ground surface; the till cover is thin and patchy with the regolith consisting mainly of fractured bedrock
Patterned ground:
Nil at site
Surface weathering or surface features:
A strongly developed cobble and pebble pavement surface with sandstone and dolerite clasts strongly oxidised and polished; some surface pitting; salts abundant beneath some surface stones
Soil
Soil parent material:
Predominantly sandstone (95%) with some dolerite, as a thin cover of local drift over dolerite
Previous disturbance:
Nil
Soil weathering stage:
6
Soil moisture status:
Xerous to sub xerous; several snowfalls and a recent fall within 7 days; most snow cover removed by ablation but some soil moistening in the upper few centimetres
Biological activity:
Occasional yellow and green lichen in rock fissures and some patches of black lichen, some endolithic algae
Profile Description
Horizon
Depth
Description
810a
-6
–
0
cm
surface cobbles, pebbles and small boulders 60% sandstone, 40% dolerite; strongly developed pavement; clasts mainly subrounded to rounded, strongly stained and polished; dolerite strongly oxidised and partly pitted; clasts moderately ventiform; salts beneath many surface stones,
810b
0
–
1
cm
dark greyish brown (10YR 4/2) sandy pebble and granule gravel; loose; rock particles rounded to angular and weakly to strongly stained with some strongly altered; distinct boundary,
810c
1
–
3
cm
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) gravelly sand; moist; moderately cohesive; some diffuse reddish oxidised patches; rock particles mainly subangular and unstained; but some strongly stained and altered; sharp boundary,
810d
3
–
6
cm
yellowish brown (10YR 5/4) sandy pebble and granule gravel; profuse patchy salts more especially beneath surface boulders; rock particles subrounded with some disaggregated and altered; sharp boundary,
810e
6
–
25
cm
dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) pebble and cobble gravel; moist; weakly cohesive; rock particles angular and unstained with some smaller particles moderately altered; sharp boundary,
810f
25
–
45
cm
olive (5Y 5/3) ice-cemented gravel (drill core); rock particles angular and unweathered,