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

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

2 soil science department-University of Tehran

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

Main Subjects

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.

References

Alonso-Zarza, A.M. (1999). Initial stages of laminar calcrete formation by roots: examples from the Neogene of central Spain. Sedimentary Geology. 126(1-4), 177-191.
Bockheim, J.G. & Munroe, J.S. (2014). Organic carbon pools and genesis of alpine soils with permafrost: a review. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 46, 987–1006.
Bowman, W.D., Cleveland, C.C., Halada, L., Hreško, J. & Baron, J.S. (2008). Negative impact of nitrogen deposition on soil buffering capacity. Nature Geoscience, 1, 767–770.
Burke, I.C., Yonker, C.M., Parton, W.J., Cole, C.V., Flach K. & Schimel. D.S. (1989). Texture, climate, and cultivation effects on soil organic matter content in U.S. Grassland Soil. Soil Science Society Am. J., 53:800-805.
Carter, M.R. & Gregorich, E.G., (2008) Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis. 2nd Edition, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton.
Ditzler, C., Scheffe, K. & H.C. (2017). Soil survey manual. USDA Handbook 18. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.
Douglass, D.C., & Bockheim, J.G. (2006). Soil-forming rates and processes on Quaternary moraines near Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina. Quaternary Research, 65(02), 293-307.
Durand, N., Monger, H.C. & Canti, M.G. (2010). Calcium carbonate features. In Interpretation of Micromorphological Features of Soils and Regoliths. Edited by Stoops, G., Marcelino, V. & Mees, F.. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 149–194.
Eswaran, H., Reich, P.F., Kimble, J.M., Beinroth, F.H., Padmanabhan, E. & Moncharoen, P. (2000). Global Climate Change and Pedogenic Carbonates, 15–25.
Fanning, D.S. & Fanning, M.C.B. (1989). Soil morphology, genesis, and classification, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Chapter 10, p.395.
Gile, L.H., Peterson, F.F., Grossman, R.B., 1966. Morphological and genetic sequences of carbonate accumulation in desert soils. Soil Science, 101(5), pp.347-360.
Hiemstra, J.F., & Van Der Meer, J.J. (1997). Pore-water controlled grain fracturing as an indicator for subglacial shearing in tills. Journal of Glaciology, 43(145), 446-454.
Jensen, J.L., Schjønning, P., Watts, C.W., Christensen, B.T. & Munkholm, L.J. (2017). Soil texture analysis revisited: Removal of organic matter matters more than ever. PloS one, 12(5), 0178039.
Kemp, R.A., Derbyshire, E. & Meng, X. (2001). A high-resolution micromorphological record of changing landscapes and climates on the western Loess Plateau of China during oxygen isotope stage Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 170(1-2), 157-169.
Khormali, F., Abtahi A. & Stoops G. (2006). Micromorphology of calcitic features in highly calcareous soils of Fars Province. Southern Iran. Geoderma 132(1), 31-46.
Khoshbakht, K. (2011). Country Report: Iran. Workshop on Climate Change and its Impact on Agriculture. Seoul, Korea. Available in http://www.adbi.org
Kraimer, R.A. & Monger, H.C. (2009). Carbon isotopic subsets of soil carbonate-a particle size comparison of limestone and igneous parent materials. Geoderma, 150(1-2), 1-9.
Lebron, I., Suarez, D.L. & Yoshida, T. (2002). Gypsum effect on the aggregate size and geometry of three sodic soils under reclamation. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 66(1), 92-98.  
Levine, S.J. & Hendricks, D.M. (1990). Carbonate forms in residual horizons of limestone derived soils in northern Arizona. In Developments in soil science. Elsevier. 19, 373-380.
Li, Z.P., Han, F.X., Su, Y., Zhang, T.L., Sun, B., Monts, D.L. & Plodinec, M.J. (2007). Assessment of soil organic and carbonate carbon storage in China. Geoderma 138, 119–126.
Machette, M.N. (1985). Calcic soils of the southwestern United States. Geological Society of America. 203, 1–21.
Manafi, Sh., Mahmoodi, Sh., Sarmadian, F., Heidari, A., & Poch R.M. (2008). Micromorphology of Secondary Calcium Carbonate Coatings in Some Arid and Semiarid Soils in Southern Alborz, Takestan-Iran. Iranian J. Soil and Water Res. 39(1) 57-75. (In Persian).
May, R.W. (1980). The formation and significance of irregularly shaped quartz grains in till. Sedimentology, 27(3), 325-331.
McCoy, V.E., Young, R.T. & Briggs, D.E.G. (2016). Sediment permeability and the preservation of soft-tissues in concretions: an experimental study. Palaios 30 (8), 608–612.
Ming, D.W. (2002). Carbonates. In: Lal, R. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Soil Science.Marcel Dekker Inc., New York. 139–141.
Mölg, N., Bolch, T., Rastner, P., Strozzi, T. & Paul, F. (2018). A consistent glacier inventory for the Karakoramand Pamir derived fromLandsat data: distribution of debris cover and mapping challenges. Earth System Science Data Discussions. 10, 1807–1827.
Perkins, E. (2003). Fundamental geochemical processes between CO2, water and minerals. Alberta Innovates–Technology Futures. 250 Karl Clark Road. Edmonton, Alberta T6N 1E4.
Najafinia, M., Khormali, F., Kiani, F. & Baranimotlagh, M. (2019). Comparison of the micromorphology of the early Pleistocene paleosols with modern loess-derived soils. Iranian Journal of Agriculture Science. 41(4), 67-82. (In Persian).
Pajoohesh M. & Lotfi M. (2016). Lime removal impacts on the soil particles and erodibility Case study: (watershed Jooneghan, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province). E.E.R.; 6(2), 31-45. (In Persian). [DOR: 20.1001.1.22517812.1395.6.2.5.0] 
Raheb, A.R., Heidari A. & Mahmoudi Sh. (2017). Bioclimatic condition and its effect on the genesis of inorganic carbon in soils developed on basalt. J. of Water and Soil Conservation, 23(5), 47-65. (In Persian).
Raheb, A., Heidari A., & Mahmoodi, Sh. (2017). Organic and inorganic carbon storage in soils along an arid to dry sub-humid climosequence in northwest of Iran. Catena 153: 66–74.
Shein, E.V. (2009). The particle-size distribution in soils: problems of the methods of study, interpretation of the results, and classification. Eurasian soil science, 42(3), 284-291.
Shi, Y., Baumann, F., Ma, Y., Song, C., Kühn, P., Scholten, T., & He J.-S. (2012). Organic and inorganic carbon in the topsoil of the Mongolian and Tibetan grasslands: pattern, control and implications. Biogeosci. Discuss. 9, 1869-1898.
Soil Survey Staff, (2022). Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 13th edition. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Sparks, D. L., Page, A. L., Helmke, P. A., & Loeppert, R. H. (1996). Methods of Soil Analysis Part 3-Chemical Methods. Soil Science Society of America Book Series 5.3. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy.
Stoops, G. (2003). Guide lines for the analysis and description of soil and regolith thin sections. Soil Science Society of America. Medison, WI, USA. 184p.
Todisco, D. & Bhiry, N. (2008). Micromorphology of periglacial sediments from the Tayara site, Qikirtaq Island, Nunavik (Canada). Catena, 76(1), 1-21.
USDA-NRCS. (2012). jNSM: Java Newhall Simulation Model User guide-part 1. National Soil Survey Center.
Ziyaee, A., Pashaei, A., Khormali, F. & Roshani, M.R. (2013). Some physico-chemical, clay mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics of loess-paleosols sequences indicators of climate change in south of Gorgan. J. of Water and Soil Conservation, 20(1), 1-27.
Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research
Volume 54, Issue 12
March 2024
Pages 1963-1979

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics