This landscape was originally interpreted as loess mixed with underlying sands. This paper re-evaluates this landscape through a spatial analysis of data from auger samples and soil pits. To better estimate the loamy sediment’s initial textures, we utilized “filtered” laser diffraction data, which remove much of the coarser sand data. Our new model for the origin of the loamy mantle suggests that the sands on the uplands were generated from eroding gullies and saltated onto the uplands along with loess that fell more widely.
Tag: geomorphology
Defining Colluvium and Alluvium (2016 EGU General Assembly)
You can still take the survey to voice your perspective on the definitions of colluvium and alluvium! TAKE THE SURVEY
What is Colluvium? An Interactive Poster Seeking a Common Definition to Improve International Communication (2015 SSSA Conference)
UPDATE: This poster was a test run for a survey asking the audience for their perspectives on how to differentiate colluvium and alluvium. That has now evolved into an online survey that you can now take. Respondents have told us that taking the survey was fun and thought-provoking. Please add your perspective by completing the … Continue reading What is Colluvium? An Interactive Poster Seeking a Common Definition to Improve International Communication (2015 SSSA Conference)
Surficial Geology of Iowa
This raster is a highly detailed (delineations made at the 1:15,840 scale) map of geologic materials at the surface, covering the entire state of Iowa. The map is based on the interpretations of the US Soil Survey, which regularly needs to assess the soil parent material in their mapping activities. The raster was generated from … Continue reading Surficial Geology of Iowa
Comparison of surficial geology maps based on soil survey and in depth geological survey
Despite the widespread availability of relatively detailed soil maps in the USA, few areas have a surficial geology map published with as much spatial detail. This apparent gap between disciplines calls to question the accuracy of soil maps to represent the spatial distribution of surficial geologic materials. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to test the agreement between maps from these two sources.
Colluvium vs Alluvium
UPDATE: Because of the tremendous response to this blog post, we’ve initiated a survey to better understand how different people around the world are defining colluvium and alluvium. Respondents have told us that taking the survey was fun and thought-provoking. Please add your perspective by completing the survey today! TAKE THE SURVEY As I interact … Continue reading Colluvium vs Alluvium
Physiography of the Des Moines Lobe
This GIS package contains a pair of spatial data sets that have been generated for the purpose of studying the physiography of the Des Moines Lobe landform region. One is a surficial geology map of the Des Moines Lobe and surrounding areas. This raster was generated from the USDA-NRCS gSSURGO spatial database. The attributes were extracted from … Continue reading Physiography of the Des Moines Lobe
Thin, pedoturbated, and locally sourced loess in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan
County soil surveys document thin loess deposits across large tracts of Michigan’s western Upper Peninsula (UP), which we informally call the Peshekee loess. Our study is the first to examine the distribution, thickness and textural characteristics of these loess deposits, and speculate as to their origins. We introduce and describe a method by which the mixed sand data are removed, or “filtered out,” of the original particle size data, to better reflect the original textural characteristics of the loess.
Using soil surveys to map Quaternary parent materials and landforms
The integration of soil survey maps with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) allows for an almost infinite level of collaboration across disciplines that use information related to soil databases. This study created a Quaternary geologic map by categorizing soil descriptions into a geologic context and joining the attributes with the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) database in ArcGIS®. The resulting map communicates many of the spatial intricacies of the Des Moines Lobe landform with 15 map units based on geologic units.