Parent Material - Envirothon

Alluvium

deposited by stream/rivers, undeveloped profile (since recent), well sorted

Marine sediments

settled out of sea → by current and tides (but also constantly modified byt eh current ad tides)

Alluvium

deposited by stream/rivers, undeveloped profile (since recent), well sorted

Marine sediments

settled out of sea → by current and tides (but also constantly modified byt eh current ad tides)

Ablation till

loose, permeable till deposited during the downwasting (melting>flow → receeding) of glacier; Coarse, deominated by snad, gravel, cobbles, stones

Glaciomarine deposits

deposits by glaciers of glacially eroded sediment taken from marine environments; High in silt and clay

3 features of topography that matter

slope, aspect, catena

Slope:
steeper =
level soil =

expressed as percent
Steeper = more erosion (faster moving water??)
Level soil = more developed (more leaching of water and chemicals??)

Aspect

direction relative to sun

Aspect effect
N Hem =
S hem =

N Hem: northern/eastern slopes fact away from sun more so darker, cooler, wetter → deeper soil (more decomposition) w/ lots of OM

Catena

a bunch of soils near each other by have different horizon types, sequences, thickness because of its position to/in the water table

Parts of catena (4)

Summit: above 4 feet water table
Well drained obviously
Shoulder: watertable is 3-4 feet below surface
Most well drained
Backslope: water table 2-3 feet
Ehh drained
Footslope: Water table 2 feet bwlow
Poorly drained of course

two factors of climate

vegetation and percipitation & temp

vegetation impact

less = less org material → prbly light in color and a thinner O layer

percip & temp impact

Less precipitation = less chem weathering → coarse soil & chemical leaching → darker or non existant e layer?
Airid soils
warm/wet climate = more decomposition & organic matter

MA climate features & impact

mod temp & perc → OM can accumulate, slightly acidic soils (bases leached away), frost = break rock fragments (loamy sands)

MA parent material history, majority of parent material, other comon parent materials (5)

During 2-14kya it was covered in ice (Pleistocene glaciation)

Most parent materials are glacial, primarily till (sometimes eolian over till

Other common: glaciofluvial, lacustrine, marine, recent alluvium, recent organic.

How do microorganisms impact parent material?

break down OM, soil fertitllity via nitrogen fixation, products humus

How do bioturbation impact parent material? (2)

big animals mix soil so soil is permeable
Excretions also help aggregate soil & improve structure & conserve nutrients so there is less leaching

How do hardwoods and softwoods impact parent material

Hardwoods take up bases and return to soil
Softwoods: take up less bases so bases leach more → soil more acidic

How do grasses arreas impact parent material?

thicker, darker surface layer + moisture cause grase roots hold onto soil + decompose slowly → A layer nutrient rich

How does wind throw parent material?

uproots trees which mixes up soil

How does time impact parent material? (2)

over time the, the soil forming facors become more defined

how long does it take to create 1" of top soil?

500-1000 years

Older soils have... (4)

Older soil has more defined profiles
Older soil more likely to have E layer
Older soil has thicker A/B
Older soil has more clay

MA soil formation (time)

Massachusetts: most soils formed since last glaciation (inceptisols) → little weathering and profile development so under <10% clay

Write a FRQ answering how the 5 parent factors impact MA's soil

lol u got to do this work yourself

Soil def

unconsolidated organic and mineral material on the surface of the earth that is capable of supporting plants.
(note: actual definitions have a lot of wiggle room since soils are dynamic and can differ a lot → no concrete definition)

5 soil factors

the action of climate, plants, and organisms (animals + people) on parent material in different topographic location over time
CLORPT

Parent material

uncoscolidated organic and mineral material that the soil is formed from (does not include consolidated bedrock)

Why do we care about parent material

INFLUENCES RATE OF WEATHERING AND RATE OF FORMATION

Residuum

produced by weathering of rock

How to ID residuum

Used when the soil properties match the ones of the underlying rock and modification via movement

Where does alluvium occour?

Typically occurs in old/new terraces & active flood plains, basins & bottomlands periodically flooded

Luastrine deposits

settled out material in lakes. Well sorted?

Beach deposits

former shorelines of sea and lakes, sorted in low ridges; Sandy, gravely, cobbly, stony

Folian

wind carried material → typically silty or very fine sand (super light, type of eolian material)

Colluvium

mss of soil material/fragements at base of slopes

Talus

Accumulation of rock fragments at base of slope

Organic material

accumulation of peat and muck from deposites of plants; 16+ inches of organic deposits (otherwise developed mineral material)

Where does OM occour?

Typically in wet area where the plant remains are decomposed rapidly → marshes, swamps

Till

directly depostied via ice (no water), unstratified, hetergenous mixture of clay, silt, sand, gravel, boulders, stone

Types of till

Ablation and lodgement/basal till

Lodgement/basal till

denst, compact, impermeable till that was crushed by the glacier; deposited beneath moving glaciers; Sandy or loamy

Glaciofluvial deposits (collectively, glacial outwash)

material transported by glacier, deposited during melting of glacier (Sorted) & Includes deposits via streams & rivers from the ice melt

Glaciolacustrine deposits

luastrine deposits but from glacial lakes; Stratified or laminated; Fine clay to sand (ie contains silt)

Varves

alternating depostitions related to season's glacial ice melt; Have drianed by now

How do varves form?

Mass of ice compressed land

Glacial beach deposits

gravel and sand from beaches of glacial lakes (mixture depends on deposits of orginal glacier)

What is feature 1? What is it’s purpose?

A moraine

Piles of rock & sedimented deposited when a retreating glacier melts

types of moraines (4)

Terminal moraines are found at the terminus or the furthest (end) point reached by a glacier.

Lateral moraines are found deposited along the sides of the glacier.

Medial moraines are found at the junction between two glaciers.

Ground moraines are disorganised piles of rocks of various shapes, sizes and of differing rock types.

What is feature 2?

A drumlin

Smooth elongated oval hill made of glacial sediment. Long axis parallel to glacial flow, tail points in direction of flow

floodplaine

Nearly level plain bordering stream or river, subject to flooding

What are the rest of the features 3 & 6

3: Kettle Hole

6 is an Outwash Plain

Escarpment

countinuos cliff

glacial lake

• Former glacial lake

• Low lying

• Level

• Parent material with strata of silt-clay-fine sand