2.13: Soils and Paleoenvironmental Reconstructions

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1. What is a paleosol?

2. Describe these four types of paleosols:

a. relict paleosol

b. buried paleosol

c. isolated paleosol

d. exhumed paleosol

3. What are two main problems that arise when trying to recognize a paleosol?

4. What are three main features used to differentiate paleosols from sediment?

5. How are pedogenesis and diagenesis different? Provide examples of each process.

6. Stratigraphically, what are three things paleosols can be used for?

7. What was the climate like during deposition of loess units compared to intercalated paleosols on the Great Plains and Chinese Loess Plateau?

8. What are three techniques to provide age control of soils/sediment and what are the age ranges of each technique?

9. What is magnetic susceptibility and how is it useful for paleoenvironmental reconstructions?

10. What is δ¹³C and how is it useful for paleoenvironmental reconstructions?