Morphological, geochemical and mineralogical studies were carried out in a representative soil catena of the low-elevation plateaux of the upper Amazon Basin to interpret the steps and mechanisms involved in the podzolization of low-activity clay soils. The soils are derived from Palaeozoic sandstones. They consist of Hydromorphic Podzols under tree savannah in the depressions of the plateaux and predominantly of Acrisols covered by evergreen forest elsewhere.Incipient podzolization in the uppermost Acrisols is related to the formation of organic-rich A and Bhs horizons slightly depleted in fine-size particles by both mechanical particle transfer and weathering. Weathering of secondary minerals by organic acids and formation of organo-metallic complexes act simultaneously over short distances. Their vertical transfer is limited. Selective dissolution of aluminous goethite, then gibbsite and finally kaolinite favour the preferential cheluviation of first Fe and secondly Al. The relatively small amount of organo-metallic complexes produced is related to the quartzitic parent materials, and the predominance of Al over Fe in the spodic horizons is due to the importance of gibbsite in these low-activity clay soils.Morphologically well-expressed podzols occur in strongly iron-depleted topsoils of the depression. Mechanical transfer and weathering of gibbsite and kaolinite by organic acids is enhanced and leads to residual accumulation of sands. Organo-metallic complexes are translocated in strongly permeable sandy horizons and impregnate at depth the macro-voids of embedded soil and saprolite materials to form the spodic Bs and 2BCs horizons. Mechanical transfer of black particulate organic compounds devoid of metals has occurred later within the sandy horizons of the podzols. Their vertical transfer has formed well-differentiated A and Bh horizons. Their lateral removal by groundwater favours the development of an albic E horizon. In an open and waterlogged environment, the general trend is therefore towards the removal of all the metals that have initially accumulated as a response to the ferralitization process and have temporarily been sequestrated in organic complexes in previous stages of soil podzolization.

This study focuses on the dating of millimetric pisoliths from ferruginous duricrusts located in central Amazonia (Brazil), by coupling detailed mineralogy and two relevant dating methods: (i) (U-Th)/He analysis of goethites by mass spectrometry; (ii) analysis of radiation-induced defects of kaolinites embedded in duricrusts by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR). Three samples collected at different elevations in the landscape were selected. The goethite corrected ages range from 1.1-15.2 Ma and consistently increase with elevation. EPR was performed on kaolinites after several cycles of a deferration procedure. Considering extreme geochemical scenarii, the ages of kaolinites are 1.7-7.1 Ma for a closed system and 4.0-16.7 Ma for an open system with 100% Rn loss. Ages of goethites and kaolinites are close, in the limit of the uncertainty of the methods. They show important periods of duricrust formation at Middle Miocene and at Late Miocene/Pliocene. Data allow the estimation of lowering rates between 3 and 8 m/Ma, in agreement with independent data available in the literature for the central Amazonia region or even for erosion of other cratons in the world. The two dating methods can be compared on common duricrust samples. By revealing single or multi-step weathering/erosion episodes related to relictual paleosurfaces, they also bring promising contributions to an advanced knowledge of ancient and complex lateritic geosystems.

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Hydrochemical processes involved in the development of hydromorphic Podzols are a major concern for the upper Amazon Basin because of the extent of the areas affected by such processes and the large amounts of organic carbon and associated metals exported to the rivers. The dynamics and chemical composition of ground and surface waters were studied along an Acrisol-Podzol sequence lying in an open depression of a plateau. Water levels were monitored along the sequence over a period of 2 years by means of piezometers. Water was sampled in zero-tension lysimeters for groundwater and for surface water in the drainage network of the depression. The pH and concentrations of organic carbon and major elements (Si, Fe and Al) were determined. The contrasted changes reported for concentrations of Si, organic carbon and metals (Fe, Al) mainly reflect the dynamics of the groundwater and the weathering conditions that prevail in the soils. Iron is released by the reductive dissolution of Fe oxides, mostly in the Bg horizons of the upslope Acrisols. It moves laterally under the control of hydraulic gradients and migrates through the iron-depleted Podzols where it is exported to the river network. Aluminium is released from the dissolution of Al-bearing minerals (gibbsite and kaolinite) at the margin of the podzolic area but is immobilized as organo-Al complexes in spodic horizons. In downslope positions, the quick recharge of the groundwater and large release of organic compounds lead to acidification and a loss of metals (mainly Al), previously stored in the Podzols.

This article reports major results from collaborative research between France and Brazil on soil and water systems, carried out in the Upper Amazon Basin. It reveals the weathering processes acting in the partly inundated, low elevation plateaus of the Basin, mostly covered by evergreen forest. Our findings are based on geochemical data and mineral spectroscopy that probe the crystal chemistry of Fe and Al in mineral phases (mainly kaolinite, Al-and Fe-(hydr)oxides) of tropical soils (laterites). These techniques reveal crystal alterations in mineral populations of different ages and changes of metal speciation associated with mineral or organic phases. These results provide an integrated model of soil formation and changes (from laterites to podzols) in distinct hydrological compartments of the Amazon landscapes and under altered water regimes.

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Ferralsols and Acrisols are major types of soils of the Amazon basin observed on various landform units comprising plateau surfaces, incised hills at their edges and slopes. The present study focuses on an Acrisol developed on plateaus surfaces from northwest Amazonia and a Ferralsol from the convex hills of the incised plateau edges. Local geomorphologic models of weathering covers suggest that Ferralsols are younger than plateau Acrisols but the absolute chronology of their formation is still lacking. This type of information is however critical to understand the evolution of northwest Amazon Basin landscapes and to identify its link with major climatic and geomorphologic events. In this paper, kaolinite-rich samples from soils and saprolites belonging to a transect in the São Gabriel da Cachoeira region (Amazon state, Brasil) are investigated. Based on their crystal-chemical characters, several types of kaolinites are identified. Using a previously developed methodology based on electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, crystallization ages are proposed for these different kaolinites. Saprolite kaolinites are dated from 6 to 3.6 Ma in the Acrisol profile and display significantly more recent ages (< 1 Ma) in the Ferralsol saprolite. Kaolinite from solum (soils horizons above the C horizon) display ages ranging from 2.5 to 1 Ma for both the Acrisol and Ferralsol. Three distinct weathering stages are thus unraveled by kaolinite dating. The Acrisol saprolite displays the older weathering stage preserved in the investigated soil sequence. It is followed by a single weathering stage leading to the formation of both soils. These two stages can be correlated to the formation of two paleosurfaces recognized at the scale of the South America subcontinent as the Miocene Vehlas and the Quaternary Paraguaçu surfaces, indicating that the Curicuriari profiles evolved during periods favorable to tropical weathering surfaces development in Amazonia. The last weathering stage corresponds to the saprolite formation in the Ferralsol profile, which is still developing under the present Amazonian climate. This still active, late 2 weathering stage is tentatively related to the more significant drainage and relief dissection occurring on the plateau edges.

Resumo:O índice de dissecação do relevo é uma análise morfométrica que considera o grau de entalhamento do vale e dimensão interfl uvial média. Ross (1992Ross ( e 1994 formalizou este índice o qual possui diversas aplicações, como segmentação do relevo, fornecer bases para o mapeamento geomorfológico, estudar a relação morfogênese -pedogênese e vulnerabilidade ambiental. O cálculo e mapeamento do índice de dissecação de forma analógica é extremamente dispendioso além de estar sujeito a erros humanos e a diferenças de interpretação. Atualmente não existe um método para realizar de forma totalmente automatizada o cálculo do índice de dissecação e que considere ambas as variáveis propostas por Ross (grau de entalhamento dos vales e dimensão interfl uvial média). O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma rotina de automatização do cálculo do índice de dissecação para