129

Site number:

129

Authors:

IBC, GGC

Date recorded:

1965/01/15

Reason Sampled:

Soil characterisation

Description:

Approximately 2km W of Lake Vashka on the moraine surface on the floor of the Barwick Valley; the profile site was on an uneven patterned ground surface, near the centre of a polygon

Altitude:

625 m

Aspect:

NE

Slope:

3 °

Climate

Soil climate zone:

Central mountains

Estimated mean annual temperature:

-23 °C

Frozen ground depth:

53 cm

Frozen type:

Hard ice-cemented, overlying stagnant ice

Frozen comment:

53cm

Geology

Geological setting:

Webb Glacier in the upper Barwick Valley has retreated and left a series of till deposits and moraine surfaces of differing ages; the site is on moraines mapped by Calkin as Vida Drift; the main rock types in the area are dolerite, granite, granodiorite and Beacon Group sediments and the tills have these rocks in them; while being older than Packard drift, this till is also ice cored

Patterned ground:

Hummocky patterned ground surface with 1m deep troughs and active movement in cracks

Surface weathering or surface features:

Some slight cavernous weathering of granite boulders and minor surface exfoliation on dolerites; pavement formation includes accumulations of pebbles and granules in depressions; surface boulders subrounded and wind abraded but mainly unstained

Soil

Soil parent material:

Bouldery Vida Drift till

Previous disturbance:

Nil

Soil weathering stage:

2 (Campbell & Claridge 1975)

Soil moisture status:

Xerous to subxerous; the site is dry and not subject to seepage; soil moisture only from periodic snowfall

Biological activity:

Nil observed