Stone‐banked lobes as a product of mild freeze–thaw action: an example from western tasmania, australia

Abstract

This paper interprets a stone‐banked lobe on the upper western face of Mt Rufus, at an altitude of 1380 m in western Tasmania, Australia. The morphology of the deposit resembles that of a solifluction lobe. Field observations show vertical and downslope movement of pebbles, cobbles and small boulders over a single winter season. The movement is largely related to frost pull (10–15 cm) and shallow freeze–thaw processes promoting the downslope (up to 50 cm yr–1) creep of material and the accumulation of coarse clasts at the lobe riser. The climate of Mt Rufus is strongly maritime and this is reflected in the limited duration and depth of penetration of frozen ground at this site during the 2013 winter. Despite the relatively mild climatic conditions, freeze–thaw processes are clearly the dominant geomorphic force operating at the site.These findings support observations of active stone‐banked lobes on sub‐Antarctic islands where intense freezing is absent. Both there and at Mt Rufus, movement is dominated by freeze–thaw processes operating in the upper c. 20 cm of the regolith. These are typical landforms of marginal freeze–thaw settings.