905

Site number:

905

Authors:

IBC

Date recorded:

1999/12/13

Reason Sampled:

Long Term Ecological Research (nematode experimental area) site investigation of soil properties; this site (LTER 2) was chosen for daily repeat sampling to measure changes in soil moisture content after irrigation of a meter square plot with 14 litres of water; this was the twelth sampling after the initial irrigation

Description:

15m southeast of LTM Datalogger plot, approximately 100m south of Lake Hoare, on the lower slope of a ridge which forms part of an undulating ridge and gully/basin topography; the soil sampling site was on the south and upslope side of the LTM datalogger plot, which comprises a series of plastic cones covering the soil surface; the site has an even, stony gravel surface with slope increasing towards the ridge just to the south; this sampling site is designated LTER 2L and was approximately 10m to the southeast of LTER 1

Altitude:

90 m

Aspect:

NE

Slope:

7 °

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:

Moderately developed 10x20m elongate net with 20cm deep troughs, 75cm wide

Surface weathering or surface features:

A few clasts slightly oxidised and some weak ventifaction; grey calcium carbonate coatings abundant beneath many surface clasts

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 (irrigated); surface has a light snow cover from an ongoing snowfall event; snow removed from ground surface for sampling by blowing away

Biological activity:

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