The mass balance of soil evolution on late Quaternary marine terraces, northern California

Research Article| November 01, 1992 The mass balance of soil evolution on late Quaternary marine terraces, northern California DOROTHY J. MERRITTS; DOROTHY J. MERRITTS 1Geosciences Department, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604-3003 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar OLIVER A. CHADWICK; OLIVER A. CHADWICK 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAVID M. HENDRICKS; DAVID M. HENDRICKS 3Department of Soil and Water Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GEORGE H. BRIMHALL; GEORGE H. BRIMHALL 4Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar CHRISTOPHER J. LEWIS CHRISTOPHER J. LEWIS 4Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information DOROTHY J. MERRITTS 1Geosciences Department, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604-3003 OLIVER A. CHADWICK 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 DAVID M. HENDRICKS 3Department of Soil and Water Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 GEORGE H. BRIMHALL 4Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 CHRISTOPHER J. LEWIS 4Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1992) 104 (11): 1456–1470. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<1456:TMBOSE>2.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation DOROTHY J. MERRITTS, OLIVER A. CHADWICK, DAVID M. HENDRICKS, GEORGE H. BRIMHALL, CHRISTOPHER J. LEWIS; The mass balance of soil evolution on late Quaternary marine terraces, northern California. GSA Bulletin 1992;; 104 (11): 1456–1470. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1992)104<1456:TMBOSE>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Mass-balance interpretation of a soil chronosequence provides a means of quantifying elemental addition, removal, and transformation that occur in soils from a flight of marine terraces in northern California. Six soil profiles that range in age from several to 240,000 yr are developed in unconsolidated, sandy- marine, and eolian parent material deposited on bedrock marine platforms. Soil evolution is dominated by (1) open-system depletion of Si, Ca, Mg, K, and Na; (2) open-system enrichment of P in surface soil horizons; (3) relative immobility of Fe and Al; and (4) transformation of Fe, Si, and Al in the parent material to secondary clay minerals and sesquioxides. Net mass losses of bases and Si are generally uniform with depth and substantial—in some cases approaching 100%; however, the rate of loss of each element differs markedly, causing the ranking of each by relative abundance to shift with time. Loss of Si from the sand fraction by dissolution and particle-size diminution, from ∼100% to <35% over 240 ky, mirrors a similar gain in the silt (from ∼2% to 30%-50%) and clay (from ∼0% to ∼20%) size fractions. The Fe originally present in the sand fraction decreases from >80% to <10%, whereas the amount of Fe present in the clay and crystal-line oxyhydroxide fractions increases to 25% and 70%, respectively. Aluminum originally present in the sand fraction decreases from >90% to <10% concurrently with an increase of AI in the organic sesquioxide and clay phases, to 10% and 50%, respectively, while only minor increases occur in the nonorganic sesquioxide phases. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.