CHEMISTRY OF SOIL

Soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air, organic matter, and
countless organisms that are the decaying remains of once-living things. It forms at
the surface of land – it is the “skin of the earth.” Soil is capable of supporting plant
life and is vital to life on earth.

Soil is full of life. It is often said that a handful of soil has more living
organisms than there are people on planet Earth. Soils are the stomach of the earth,
consuming, digesting, and cycling nutrients and organisms.

Soil, as formally defined in the Soil Science Society of America Glossary of Soil
Science Terms, is the unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate
surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.
The soil is vital for the
following reasons:

1. Soils serve as media for growth of all kinds of plants.

2. Soils modify the atmosphere by emitting and absorbing gases (carbon dioxide,
methane, water vapor, and the like) and dust.
3. Soils provide habitat for animals that live in the soil (such as groundhogs and
mice) to organisms (such as bacteria and fungi), that account for most of the living
things on Earth.
4. Soils absorb, hold, release, alter, and purify most of the water in terrestrial
systems.
5. Soils process recycled nutrients, including carbon, so that living things can use
them over and over again.
6. Soils serve as engineering media for construction of foundations, roadbeds,
dams and buildings, and preserve or destroy artifacts of human endeavors.
7. Soils act as a living filter to clean water before it moves into an aquifer.

The Solid Earth

The outermost layer of the earth is called the crust. There are two types of crust,
continental and oceanic. The crust averages around 25 miles or 40 kilometers in
thickness and can be divided into 15 major tectonic plates that are rigid in the
center and have geological activity at the boundaries, such as earthquakes and
volcanoes. The Earth’s crust contains all three rock types, including igneous,
sedimentary and metamorphic. Oceanic crust lies under
the ocean and is thin. It is approximately 4 miles or 7 kilometers in thickness and it
is
composed of dense rocks, including basalt. Continental crust is thicker and ranges
from 6 to 47 miles (10 to 75 km) in thickness. In the continental crust, there has a
high abundance of less dense igneous rock, like granite.

The mantle is located between the crust and the core. It’s a region of hot slow-
moving solid rock. The mantle is 1,800 miles (2,900 km) thick, and it is composed
of silicate minerals. They’re similar to the ones found in the crust except with more
magnesium and iron, and less silicon and aluminium.

The core extends from below the mantle to the center of the Earth. Scientists
believe that the core is made mostly of iron and nickel. The core is the
densest layer and makes up about 1/3 of the Earth’s mass. The outer core is
composed mostly of iron and nickel with metals found in liquid form. The outer
core reaches temperatures of 7,200 to 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s estimated
to be about 1,400 miles (2300 km) thick. The Inner core is the
hottest part of our planet and has temperatures between 9,000 and 13,000 degrees
Fahrenheit. It’s a solid layer and it’s around 755 miles (1,200 km) thick and it is
composed mostly of iron. This iron is under so much pressure that it stays as a
solid.

The Earth can also be divided into layers based on physical properties, such as
whether the layer is solid or liquid. The five physical layers are the
lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and inner core.

The outermost rigid layer of the Earth is the lithosphere. The lithosphere is around
100 km thick, and it’s divided into tectonic plates. The earth’s lithosphere includes
the crust in the upper part of the mantle and it is hard and rigid outer layer of the
Earth.

The asthenosphere lies underneath and it’s made of solid rock that moves very
slowly. It can flow and also can be elastic. The asthenosphere is located below the
lithosphere, and the tectonic plates move on top of it.

The strong lower part of the mantle is called the mesosphere. Rock in the
mesosphere flows more slowly than rock in the asthenosphere. The outer core is
the liquid layer of the Earth’s core, and the inner core is the solid part. The inner
core extends from the bottom of the outer core to the center of the Earth.

Soil Formation
The creation of soil has taken millions of years but for us to truly understand it we
must first look to its origin and find out exactly how it is formed.

Fundamentally, soil is derived from bedrock. The weathering and eroding of this
bedrock starts the process of soil formation. Over time, bare rocks are exposed to
the elements. Weather factors like wind, rain, and heat helps to break up the
surface of the bedrock, fracturing it into many smaller pieces. Eventually, the small
pieces are broken up further and
form the physical component of soil.

As you might imagine, almost nothing could grow on a pile of fractured rocks.
There are minerals present in the rock but they’re unavailable for plants and there’s
almost nothing to hold water which is essential for life.

At this point, microscopic life comes in. Microbes are able to utilize the minerals
held in the rocks and start to grow in the little nooks and crevices. Most
importantly, these tiny organisms fix nitrogen and carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere leading to a buildup in organic material. This process paves the way
for another key group of organisms that are instrumental in the process of soil
formation, the lichen.

Lichen gets most of what it needs to survive from the atmosphere, hence its
remarkable ability to survive in extreme locations. Lichens are a complex life form
that is a symbiotic partnership of two separate organisms, a fungus and an alga.
These bizarre organisms that would have been the first to take advantage of the
organic material left over by the microbes and algae. Not only can lichen survive
without soil but through secretion of acid it also chemically erodes the rock that it
grows on. This frees up a wealth of beneficial nutrients. When the lichen dies a
small deposit of organic matter is left and gets trapped inside crevices within the
rock. As more and more lichen grows and dies, this layer of organic matter rich in
nitrogen and essential minerals builds up allowing rooting plant a foothold in an
otherwise inhospitable environment. This process is long and slow typically taking
500 years for just 1 centimeter of topsoil.

Over time as the organic matter build up and up, it is led to the succession of
larger and larger plants. As these die, they feed into the formation of more soil and
allow a diverse range of plants to grow.
 In retrospect, soil forms continuously, but slowly, from the gradual
breakdown of rocks through weathering. Weathering can be a physical, chemical
or biological process:

 physical weathering—breakdown of rocks from the result of a mechanical

action.
Temperature changes, abrasion (when rocks collide with each other) or frost can all
cause rocks to break down.
 chemical weathering—breakdown of rocks through a change in their chemical
makeup.
This can happen when the minerals within rocks react with water, air or other
chemicals.
 biological weathering—the breakdown of rocks by living things. Burrowing
animals help water and air get into rock, and plant roots can grow into cracks in the
rock, making it split.

The accumulation of material through the action of water, wind and gravity also
contributes to soil formation. These processes can be very slow, taking many tens
of thousands of years.
Five main interacting factors affect the formation of soil:

 parent material—minerals forming the basis of soil

 living organisms—influencing soil formation
 climate—affecting the rate of weathering and organic decomposition
 topography—grade of slope affecting drainage, erosion and deposition
 time—influencing soil properties.
Interactions between these factors produce an infinite variety of soils across the
earth’s surface.

Rock Cycle

The exposure of rocks to weathering and erosion at the earth's surface breaks them
down into smaller grains producing soil. Rocks contain minerals and are the parent
material for soil. It would be a foundation to inform us about the rock cycle.
The rock cycle is a concept used to explain how the three basic rock types are
related and how Earth processes, over geologic time, change a rock from one type
into another. The three basic rock types are igneous, sedimentary and
metamorphic. During the rock cycle, rocks transforms into the different rock types.

Igneous rocks, which are crystallized magma, erodes and are compacted
(sedimentation) to form sedimentary rocks, i.e. sandstone. The sedimentary rock
may undergo metamorphism, where heat and pressure is added on the rock to
convert it into a metamorphic rock. When a metamorphic rock was push deeper
into the crust, it melts into magma. These magma when thrown back to the surface
will crystallize and form igneous rocks.

Soil Composition

Soil is just the three phases of matter, solid, liquid, and gas, coming together.
For the solid components, soil contains about 45 % minerals and about 5% organic
materials. The minerals were the particles that came from the parent rock, while
the organic materials came from living or dead
organisms.
Depending on the soil’s water holding capacity, about 25% of the soil is water. The
remaining percentage is air.

In short, the soil is a coming together of the atmosphere, lithosphere, hydrosphere

and the biosphere. It is the interface between all the different spheres on our planet.

Soil Horizons

There are different types of soil, each with its own set of characteristics. Dig
down deep into any soil, and you’ll see that it is made of layers, or horizons (O, A,
E, B, C, R). Put the horizons together, and they form a soil profile. Like a
biography, each profile tells a story about the life of a soil. Most soils have three
major horizons (A, B, C) and some have an organic horizon (O).
 O horizon – (humus or organic) Mostly organic matter such as decomposing
leaves. The O horizon is thin in some soils, thick in others, and not present at all in
others.
 A horizon - (topsoil) Mostly minerals from parent material with organic matter
incorporated. A good material for plants and other organisms to live.
 E horizon – (eluviation layer) Leached of clay, minerals, and organic matter,
leaving a concentration of sand and silt particles of quartz or other resistant
materials. The E horizon is missing in some soils but often found in older soils and
forest soils.
 B horizon – (subsoil) Rich in minerals that leached (moved down) from the A or
E horizons and accumulated here.
 C horizon – (parent material/ rock) The deposit at Earth’s surface from which the
soil developed.
 R horizon – (bedrock/ regolith ) A mass of rock such as granite, basalt, quartzite,
limestone or sandstone that forms the parent material for some soils – if the
bedrock is close enough to the surface to weather. This is not soil and is located
under the C horizon.

Soil Textures
Soil particles vary greatly in size, and soil scientists classify soil particles into
sand, silt, and clay. Starting with the finest, clay particles are smaller than 0.002
mm in diameter. Some clay particles are so small that ordinary microscopes do not
show them. Silt particles are from 0.002 to 0.05 mm in diameter. Sand ranges from
0.05 to 2.0 mm. Particles larger than 2.0 mm
are called gravel or stones. Most soils contain a mixture of sand, silt and clay in
different proportions.
The size of soil particles is important. The amount of open space between the
particles influences how easily water moves through a soil and how much water
the soil will hold. Too much clay, in proportion to silt and sand, causes a soil to
take in water very slowly. Such a soil gives up its water to plants slowly. These
soils are sticky when wet.
Referring to the figure , a soil with 50 percent clay by composition is considered
only as clay. On the other hand, loam and silt loam refer to soils that have a
favorable proportion of sand, silt, and clay. A silt loam, for example, contains no
more than 50% sand or more than 27% clay. The rest is silt.

Soil Mechanics

Soil mechanics differs from classical fluid mechanics or solid mechanics as the soil
is (a) a heterogeneous mixture of solid particles (gravel, rock, sand, silt, and clay),
liquid, and gas (three-phase system), and (b) is a particulate material.
Understanding and predicting soil’s behavior is complex as it is stress-dependent
and nonlinear.

To derive soil’s mechanical properties, in-situ and laboratory testing are performed
and analytical solutions or constitutive models are used to simulate its behavior. In
general, the purpose of using soil mechanics varies depending on the project, but
broadly it aims to ensure soil’s stability and limit deformation while controlling
groundwater flow.

Environmental Engineering
The goal of environmental engineering is to ensure that societal development and
the use of water, land and air resources are sustainable. This goal is achieved by
managing these resources so that environmental pollution and degradation is
minimized.

Environmental engineers study water, soil and air pollution problems, and develop
technical solutions needed to solve, attenuate or control these problems in a
manner that is compatible with legislative, economic, social and political concerns.

The activities of such engineers include, but are not limited to, the planning,
design, construction and operation of water and wastewater treatment facilities in
municipalities and industries, modelling and analysis of surface water and
groundwater quality, design of soil and remediation systems, planning for the
disposal and reuse of wastewaters and sludges, and the collection, transport,
processing, recovery and disposal of solid wastes according to accepted
engineering practices.
Environmental engineers are called upon to play an important role in
environmental protection, because engineering solutions are required to meet the
environmental standards set by legislation.

Consulting firms, municipalities, government agencies, industries and non-

governmental organizations and specialized contractors are potential employers
with a specialization in environmental engineering.