Laboratory Studies and Genesis of a Clay‐Enriched Horizon in the Lowest Part of the Solum of Some Brunizem and Gray‐Brown Podzolic Soils in Illinois

Abstract

Results are presented from laboratory investigations of Beta horizons (clay-enriched layers found below the B 2 horizons) of selected soils in the Wisconsin-age glaciated region of northern Illinois.Stereoscopic microscopic investigations indicated the peds were microconstructional. This was interpreted to be the result of not only the arrangement of skeletal material in situ, but also the effect of colloidal material which has moved into the horizon from above and deposited on surfaces of grains, peds, and walls of pores to alter the microconfiguration and porosity. Microscopic studies of thin sections showed a rather porous fabric with a large per-Clay migration was suggested as the dominant process in the development of the Beta horizon and it was closely related to the discontinuity in moisture flow at the boundary of the coarser textured substrata and finer textured subsoil.

The Petrography and Origin of Deposits filling Solution Pipes in the Chalk near South Mimms, Hertfordshire

“…Our suggested origin of the dark brown clay lining the pipes is similar to that of the Beta horizons developed on calcareous gravels in Illinois (Bartelli & Odell, 1960). It is also similar to that of Clay-with-flints sensu stricto (Hodgson et al 1967), which often occurs in similar situations, as a lining to pipes and other solution cavities.…”

Quantification of colloidal and aqueous element transfer in soils: The dual-phase mass balance model

“…Current methods to assess clay translocation within a profile or laterally through a hillslope rely on micromorphological studies (Bartelli and Odell, 1960) or short-term experiments and monitoring (El-Farhan et al, 2000). Either strategy can be laborious and fraught with challenges (Nettleton et al, 1969(Nettleton et al, , 1987Mccarthy and Mckay, 2004) and yet not clearly distinguish the relative magnitudes of solute versus colloid movement.…”

Development of a clay-rich interval above a limestone substrate in the Condroz region of southern Belgium

“…Ballagh and Runge, 1970;Ducloux, 1970;Mathieu, 1976;Mathieu and Stoops, 1974). For both contexts, abundant clay deposition above the contact with the parent rock is attributed to blocked infiltration and/or clay flocculation at levels with high Ca concentrations (Bartelli and Odell, 1960b). Beta horizons have a characteristic set of microscopic features, to the extent that the term 'beta-argillic formation' has been suggested as an example of the use of higher levels of microfabric classification (Stoops, 1994), referring to fabrics with common channels, abundant coatings of fine clay with strong parallel orientation, absence of stress deformation, and local occurrence of organic matter.…”