TOPIC 4: SEDIMENT

& SEDIMENTARY
ROCK
EG208 PHYSICAL GEOLOGY
PART 2 (SOIL)
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LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Describe the factors that affect the formation of soil.
 Name and sketch the soil horizons that form in a humid climate and
explain how the layers form.
 Describe what if the factor in affecting soil formation
 Describe how the soil erodes and the rates of erosion
 Classification of soils.

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What is Soil? Introduction
 Weathering  key part of the process of soil formation.
 Soil consists of rock & sediment  modified by physical and chemical
interaction with organic material and rainwater  produce a substrate 
support the growth of plants.
 Soils  important natural resource.
 Represent the interface between the lithosphere and the biosphere 
provide nutrients for plants.
 Soils consist  weathered rock + organic material  comes from
decaying plants and animals.

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What is Soil?
 Soil: complex mixture of:
 minerals (approximately 45%),
 organic matter (approximately
5%), and
 empty space (approximately 50%).
 The mineral content  variable, but is
dominated by clay minerals & quartz,
minor amounts of feldspar and small
fragments of rock.
This diagram applies only to the
mineral component of soils, and the
names are textural descriptions, not
soil classes.
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Soil Horizon/ Profile
 As soils mature, distinct layers
appear in them (figure).
 Soil layers are called soil horizons
 Distinguished  by appearance
and chemical composition.

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 Soil Horizon/ Profile cont.
O horizon
• Organic material ~ 20-30%
• Dead leaves, surface
organism, twigs, sticks, fallen
tress
• Several stages of
decomposition
• Dark brown or black
• Roots of small grasses
E horizon
• Below O / A horizon
• zone of leaching – dissolve
mineral (iron & calcium)
• Lighter/ pale in color
• High in nutrients – leeched for
layer above
• Lower clay content
• Common in forest area

A horizon
• Below horizon O/ top of profile
(if O is missing)
• Commonly called topsoil
• Mixture of sand, silt and clay
• High in organic material
• Called the root zone
• Susceptible to rain and water
erosion 6
 Soil Horizon/ Profile cont.
C horizon
• Below zone B
• Incompletely weathered
parent material
B horizon • Broken bedrock
• Below O,A and E horizon • No/ very little organic material
• Higher level of certain • Transitional between the
materials – iron, aluminum, unweathered rock or sediment
silicates, clay & carbonates below and the developing soil
• Called illuviation/ above.
accumulation zone  high
content of mineral
• Roots of large tress R horizon
• Frequently called subsoil • Bedrock
• Hardpan (hard layer of Earth • Cemented and compacted
material) may form • Granite, limestone, basalt

 Note: not all soils in all areas contain of these horizons through out the world.
 In fact the horizons that are found in each area will vary greatly from location and characteristic of that area. 7
Factors Affecting Soil Formation
 The factors that affect the nature of soil and the rate of
its formation include:
 Parent material,
 Slope,
 Living organism,
 Climate, and
 Time
S = f {C, O, S, P, T}

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1. Parent Material
 The character of a soil depends partly on the parent material.
 The parent material  source of the weathered mineral matter that
makes up most of a soil.
 Ex.1: A soil developing on weathering granite  sandy, sand-sized
particles of quartz and feldspar are released from the granite.
 If the feldspar grains weather completely  fine-grained clay minerals are
formed.

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1. Parent Material cont.
 Ex. 2:
 A soil forming on basalt  may never be sandy
 If chemical weathering processes > mechanical weathering
processes,  fine-grained feldspars  will weather directly to fine-
grained clay minerals.
 The parent rock had  X coarse-grained minerals & X quartz 
resulting soil may lack sand.

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1. Parent Material cont.
 Both  residual soils, develop from
weathering of the bedrock beneath
them (fig).
 Transported soils  do not develop from
locally formed rock, but from regolith
from some other region (fig).
 Ex. Mud deposited by a river  form an
excellent agricultural soil.
 If > variety in the chemical makeup of
the parent material, > greater variety of
minerals and nutrients

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2. Slope
 The slope  important control on the
formation of soil (figure).
 Soils  tend to be thin or nonexistent on
steep slopes,  gravity keeps water and
soil particles
 Vegetation  sparse on steep slopes  not
many roots  little organic matter to
provide nutrients.
 By contrast, soils in bottomlands  thick
but poorly drained and waterlogged.
 Vegetation bottomland  not decay
completely, and thick, dark layers of peat
 The optimal topography  is flat or gently
sloping uplands,  good drainage, minimal
erosion, and healthy vegetation cover.
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3. Living organism
 The biosphere plays  important role in
soil development.
 The chief function  to provide organic
material to the soil.
 Decomposing plants form humus 
supplies nutrients to the soil and aids in
water retention.
 The decaying plant matter  releases
organic acids  increase chemical
weathering of rocks.
 Growing plants  send roots deep into the
soil  breaking up the underlying bedrock
and opening pore spaces.
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3. Living organism cont.
 Burrowing organisms  ants, worms, and
rodents bring soil particles to the surface and
mix the organic and mineral components of the
soil.
 Create passageways  allow for the circulation
of air and water  increasing chemical
weathering and accelerating soil formation.
 Microorganisms  bacteria, fungi, and
protozoa  promote the decomposition of
organic matter to humus,  bacteria fix
nitrogen in the soil,  uptake by plants.
 Interdependency of plant + animals + soil =
mutual beneficial  balanced system.
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4. Climate
 Climate  the MOST influential factor affecting soil thickness and
character.
 The same parent materials  same topography will form  different soil
types under different climatic conditions.
 Temperature and precipitation determine whether chemical or mechanical
weathering processes will dominate and strongly influence the rate and
depth of weathering.
 The amount and types of vegetation and animal life  contribute to soil
formation are also determined by climate.

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4. Climate cont.
 Ex 1: Soils in temperate, moist climates (Europe and the eastern United States)
 thick and are generally characterized by downward movement of water
 fertile, high content of aluminum and iron oxides
 marked by effective downward leaching

 Ex. 2: In arid climates (many parts of the western United States)

 soils tend to be thin
 characterized by little leaching, scant humus, and
 the upward movement of soil water beneath the land surface

 Ex. 3: Tropical rain forests of the world.

 high temperatures and abundant rainfall
 thick red soils called oxisols or laterites  highly leached and infertile.
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5. Time
 Character of a soil changes with time.
 Soil  weathering for a short period of time, the characteristics  by the
parent material.
 Young soils  retain the structure of the parent rock bedding layers.
 As time progresses, other factors become more important and climate 
predominates.
 Soils from  igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks  quite
similar, given the same climate and enough time.
 In the long term only characteristic of the parent rock  significance is
the presence or absence of coarse grains of quartz.

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5. Time cont.
 With time, soils tend to become thicker.
 Regions  ongoing volcanic activity, the
length of time between eruptions 
estimated by the thickness of the soil
that has formed
 A soil  buried by a lava flow, volcanic
ash, windblown dust, glacial deposits, or
other sediment is called a buried soil, or
paleosol
 Such soils  distinctive and traceable,
may contain buried organic remains 
useful for dating rocks and sediments 
interpreting past climates and
topography.
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 Soil Erosion
 Soil  one of the most significant resources  effect life
 Soil provides nourishment and physical support for plant life  very
base of the food chain  supports human existence.
 Soil is  one of Earth’s most vital resources, but also one of Earth’s
most abused.
 The upper layers (O and A horizons)  are the most fertile and
productive  layers that are most vulnerable to erosion  due to land
mismanagement (poor farming and grazing practices)
 Earth has lost about 10% of its productive value  over the last 50
years.
 If measures are not taken  an additional 10% of Earth’s productivity
could be lost  next 25 years.

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How Soil Erodes
 Soil particles easily eroded by
1. Water
2. Wind

Currents that form in the sheet of Rivers turn brown & muddy 
Raindrops strike unprotected soil like water cut tiny channels called rills in evidence of significant amount of
tiny bombs, dislodging soil particles the exposed soil  rills deepen into soil  transported
in a process called splash erosion. gullies (merger into stream)

• A rill is a shallow channel in some soil,

created by the erosion of flowing water.
• When rills get large enough that they cannot
easily be removed, they're known as gullies. 20
How Soil Erodes cont.
 Wind  less significant than water,
 But it is a particular problem in arid and semiarid regions.

Wind erosion at the arid area. e.g desert area Wind erosion at the agriculture area (semi-arid)

• Arid = very dry and without enough rain for plants

• Semi-arid = area that has little rain but is not completely dry
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Rates of Erosion
 The rate of soil erosion is influenced by several factors:
1. Soil characteristics
 Coarse-grained  have larger pore spaces and  absorb > water
 Less runoff  on the coarser soils,  less of the soil is eroded way.

2. Climate
 A gentle rain over a long period of time  less splash erosion
 Gentle rainfall  less sheet erosion

3. Slope
 Water  slowly on gentle slopes  more likely to percolate down into the soil.
 The faster-moving water  does not infiltrate and has a greater ability to 
dislodge and transport soil particles
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Rates of Erosion cont.
 A very significant control on soil erosion rate is 
amount and type of vegetation
 Plant roots form networks in the O and A
horizons  bind soil particles.
 The leaf canopy protects the soil  from the
impact of raindrops,  lowering the risk of
splash erosion.
 Thick vegetation  reduce the wind velocity
near the ground surface,  preventing the loss
of soil due to wind erosion.
 Large-scale farming operations  leaving the
underlying soils vulnerable to the effects of wind Soil erosion caused by clear cutting
and water (fig) of rain forest near Lake Baringo,
Kenya, Africa.

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Soil Classification
 Early soil classification efforts  based largely on the geology
 Different types form on the same underlying rock depending upon:
 climate,
 topography, and
 age of the soil
 In 1975 a soil classification  developed that grouped soils into 12
large orders  based on characteristics of the horizons

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Soil Classification cont.
 Brief descriptions of the orders along with the factors most important in the formation of
each soil.

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Soil Classification cont.
 Figure shows the worldwide distribution of the twelve major orders.

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Summary
 Soil develops by chemical and mechanical weathering of a
parent material.
 Some definitions of soil require that it contain organic matter
and be able to support plant growth.
 Soils, which can be residual or transported, usually have
distinguishable layers, or horizons, caused in part by water
movement within the soil.
 Climate is the most important factor determining soil type.
 Other factors in soil development are parent material, time,
slope, and organic activity.
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Tutorial
1. What is a soil and how is a soil formed?
2. Name and sketch the soil horizons that form in a humid climate. Explain how the
layers (horizons) form
3. What is the difference between a residual soil and a transported soil?
4. What factors affect the formation of soil?
5. How do soils erode, and why is it important to minimize soil erosion?
6. Why is it important for humans to prevent the erosion of soils?
7. Soil with approximately equal amounts of sand, silt, and clay along with a generous
amount of organic matter is called __________________
8. The most important factor in determining the type of soil that forms is __________
9. The soil horizon containing only organic material is the _____________
10. Hardpan forms in the _____________
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