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2.2: The Soil Profile

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    15259

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     1. What is regolith and what are its two possible origins?

     

     

     

     2. What is a residual soil and how does it form?

     

     

     

     3. What are the three zones of a weathering profile and in which zone(s) do you find the soil profile?

     

     

     

     4. Rank the following in order from shallowest (1) to deepest (4):

    Weathering profile: _____________

    Solum:                  _____________

    Regolith:               _____________

    Soil profile:            _____________

     

     5. Define the following:

    Soil profile –

    Pedon –

    Polypedon –

    Soil map unit –

     6. Write the symbol that applies to the master, transitional, or subordinate horizon below:

    a. zone of maximum leaching/eluviation                                                        _________

    b. subsoil zone with accumulation of silicate clays                                           _________

    c. surface layer disturbed by plowing                                                             _________

    d. unconsolidated material underlying the solum                                             _________

    e. subsoil layer that is weakly developed                                                        _________

    f. bedrock                                                                                                   _________

    g. surface layer of highly decomposed organic matter

    h. intermixed zone of eluviation and illuviation, with illuviation dominating

     7. What is a lithologic discontinuity and how is it denoted within a soil profile?

     

     

     

     8. What is a paleosol and how is it denoted within a soil profile?

     

    This page titled 2.2: The Soil Profile is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Mark W. Bowen via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.