The glacial origin of carbonates in the calcic and petrocalcic horizons of the soils developed on glacial deposits in the southern Alborz Mountain slope

Heidari, Ahmad; Kordpour Kermanshahi, Abbas; Raheb, Alireza

doi:10.22059/ijswr.2023.363088.669542

The glacial origin of carbonates in the calcic and petrocalcic horizons of the soils developed on glacial deposits in the southern Alborz Mountain slope

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Ahmad Heidari ¹

Abbas Kordpour Kermanshahi ¹

Alireza Raheb ²

¹ Department of Soil Science, ّFaculty of Agriculture. University of Tehran

² soil science department-University of Tehran

10.22059/ijswr.2023.363088.669542

Abstract

The dissolution of carbon dioxide in water is one of the sources of soil carbonates, which have an inverse relationship with water temperature. The origin of soil-forming carbonates formed in glacial sediments, and the effect of glacial processes on their formation were investigated. This study was conducted in the year 2021 in Alborz province, and eight profiles located in Karaj and Hashtgerd regions with glacial-alluvial parent materials were described and sampled. Physical and chemical characteristics, including soil texture before and after the removal of carbonates by the hydrometer method, pH, and EC in saturated extract, organic carbon by the Walkley-Black method, Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (CCE) measured by the calcimetric method in 27 samples were determined. Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) measured by the ammonium acetate method. Soil description and classification were performed based on the American classification system. A micromorphological study of undisturbed samples, before and after the removal of carbonates, was carried out following their impregnation with polyester resin, cutting, sawing, mounting on glass slides, and reducing the thickness to about 30 microns. Imaging was done with a polarizing microscope, and the analysis and interpretation of the results were carried out according to the guide for the analysis of thin sections. The results showed that the petrocalcic horizons formed on glacial tills and moraines are the result of the long-term infiltration of cold water rich in dissolved carbonates into the soil. This model of the formation of secondary carbonates in the soil is different from other models that mainly consider the origin of carbonates to be the dissolution and recrystallization of primary carbonates or the biological respiration of roots and living organisms.

Keywords

Carbonates

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Glacial sediments

Micromorphology

Removal of Carbonates

Subjects

پیدایش و رده‌بندی خاک

The glacial origin of carbonates in the calcic and petrocalcic horizons of the soils developed on glacial deposits in the southern Alborz Mountain slope

Extended Abstract

Objectives

The main goals of this research are 1. To investigate the origin of soil-forming carbonates in soils formed in glacial sediments 2. Study the effect of glacial processes on the formation of pedogenic carbonates and the resulting micromorphological complications, and 3. To explore the possibility of pedogenic carbonates forming directly through the dissolution of carbon dioxide in cold glacial waters.

Materials and Methods

This study was conducted in the year 2021 in Alborz Province. Eight profiles located in the Karaj and Hashtgerd regions with glacial-alluvial parent materials were described and sampled. Physical and chemical characteristics, including soil texture before and after the removal of carbonates by the hydrometer method, pH, and EC in saturated extract, soil organic carbon by the Walkley-Black method were determined in 27 samples. Calcium Carbonate Equivalent (CCE) was measured by the calcimetric method, and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) was measured by the ammonium acetate method. Soil description and classification were performed based on the American classification system. Micromorphological study of the undisturbed samples, before and after the removal of carbonates, was carried out following their impregnation with polyester resin, cutting, sawing, mounting on glass slides, and reducing the thickness to about 30 microns. Imaging was done with a polarizing microscope, and the analysis and interpretation of the results were conducted according to the guide for the analysis of thin sections.

Results

Examining the particle size distribution of the soils developed on the glacial sediments before and after the removal of carbonates revealed that most of the carbonates in these soils are in the clay fraction (and to some extent in the silt fraction). With the removal of carbonates, the percentage of clay decreased drastically, and the particle size distribution classes changed from loam and clay-loam to coarser texture classes of loamy-sand, sandy-loam, even sandy. The percentage of clay in the middle part of the profiles before and after the removal of carbonates demonstrates the characteristics of the argillic horizons. The thin sections did not show clay coating pedofeatures before the removal of carbonates. Examination of the thin sections after the removal of carbonates showed that the crystalline b-fabric (related to carbonates) in the micromass was removed and turned into an undifferentiated b-fabric. A speckled b-fabric with phyllosilicate clays and weak clay coatings on some parts of the sections appeared. Of course, the possibility of transporting phyllosilicate clays together with the water resulting from the melting of glaciers and their co-precipitation with carbonates in the petrocalcic horizons is not far from expected.

Conclusions

The petrocalcic horizons formed on glacial tills and moraines result from the long-term infiltration of cold water rich in dissolved CO₂ into the soil. This model of secondary carbonate formation in the soil differs from other models that mainly consider the origin of carbonates to be the dissolution and recrystallization of primary carbonates or the biological respiration of roots and living organisms.

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