866A

Site number:

866A

Authors:

IBC

Date recorded:

1999/12/04

Reason Sampled:

Long Term Ecological Research (nematode experimental area) site investigation of soil properties; this site (LTER 4) was selected for repeat sampling to measure changes in soil moisture adjacent to a retreating snow bank; the snow edge 7 hours after the first sampling on day 5 had retreated to 30cm from its position on day 1

Description:

North side of the LTM Datalogger plot, approximately 100m south of Lake Hoare, on the lower slope of a shallow gully which forms part of an undulating ridge and gully/basin topography; the site is a fine gravelly toe slope surface and is immediately adjacent to a snow patch which was retreating; this site is approximately 25m to the east of LTER 1

Altitude:

90 m

Aspect:

N

Slope:

2 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Coastal mountain;

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-20 °C

Frozen ground depth:

0 Nd

Frozen type:

Nd

Frozen comment:

Nd

Geology

Geological setting:

The deposit is unweathered Ross I till, possibly derived from the Canada Glacier but almost certainly with an up-valley influence because of the presence of marble clasts from basement rocks; the tills may be fluvio-glacial owing to complex depositional ice-marginal processes as the sand % generally increases downwards while there are noticeably more coarse clasts at the surface

Patterned ground:

Weakly developed 15m net with 30cm trough width, 10cm deep

Surface weathering or surface features:

A pebble pavement surface with few weathering features

Soil

Soil parent material:

Predominantly granite/gneiss/schist sandy gravel with minor amounts of dolerite, volcanic (scoria), sandstone and marble

Previous disturbance:

Site probably disturbed by foot traffic activity during biological research activities near the site

Soil weathering stage:

6 1 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Xerous to subxerous; a moist site adjacent to retreating snow edge

Biological activity:

Nil observed at site, nematodes present in adjacent soil; some green algae beneath marble clasts in the general area