A Paleosol Bibliography

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Soils are complex sedimentary bodies formed at the land surface by the physical, chemical and biologic weathering of some parent material. Soil-forming processes include frost wedging, thermal expansion and contraction, hydrolysis, hydration, oxidation, solution, ion exchange, chelation, disturbance by plant roots and soil dwelling organisms, clay illuviation, and others. Minerals in soils include those weathered from the parent material, as well as new ("neoformed") minerals (such as clay) formed by pedogenic processes.

Numerous examples of paleosols fossil soils have been described in the geologic record, from the Archaen to the Holocene. Each of these represents an interval of low or no sedimentation lasting from hundreds to millions of years. In some cases, dozens to hundreds of fossil soils have been documented from individual formations. For instance Retallack and Krull (1996) count 341 stacked Permian-Triassic paleosols in a 568m section at Graphite Peak, Antarctica, amd Bestland et al. (2000) document over 500 paleosols within the Eocene-Oligocene Clarno and John Day formations of Oregon. Soils in the geologic record include some very mature ultisols and oxisols, representing well over 10k years or more of weathering (e.g. Bestland et al., 1996; Gill and Yemane, 1996).

Paleopedology is the study of these ancient soils. The characteristics of ancient soils (soil microstructures, mineralogy, degree of weathering, trace fossils, etc.) can by comparison with modern soils tell us much about the climatic conditions under which they formed, the length of time they took to form (often well over 10,000 years), the composition of the atmosphere at the time of pedogenesis (e.g. Beukes et al., 2002; Murakami et al., 2001), the biota inhabiting the soil environment (e.g. soil arthropods or insects [e.g. Genise et al., 2002; Melchor et al., 2002; Retallack, 2001b]), and so on. For instance, vertisols form in regions subjected to seasonal wetting and drying. Carbonate nodules and calcretes only form under arid to semi-arid conditions. Pyrite and siderite nodules form in poorly drained or submerged soils. The orientation of roots within a paleosol also provide paleoenvironmental information. For instance, laterally spreading roots are characteristic of submerged or poorly drained soils, whereas deeply penetrating tap roots indicate a low water table. Presence of both lateral root mats and deeply penetrating roots may indicate soil environments in which the level to the water table fluctuated seasonally. The following short bibliography includes references to many recent papers describing fossil soils in the geologic record, from the Archean to the Recent. You can read the abstract by clicking the reference. For an introduction to paleosols and their implications for Young-Earthism, see Jonathon Clarke's essay Paleosols and Their Implications for the Flood.

Alvaro et al, 2003. Lower Cambrian paleosols from the Cantabrian Mountains (northern Spain): a comparison with Neogene–Quaternary estuarine analogues. Sedimentary Geology 163, 67-84.

Arndorff, L., 1994. Upper Triassic and Lower Jurassic palaeosols from southern Scandinavia, Lund Publication in Geology 116.

Ashley, G.R., and Driese, S.G., 2000. Paleopedology and paleohydrology of a volcaniclastic paleosol: Implications for Early Pleistocene paleoclimate record, Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania. Journal of Sedimentary Research 70, pp. 1065-1080.

Aslan, A., and Autin, W.J., 1998. Holocene flood-plain soil formation in the southern lower Mississippi Valley: Implications for interpreting alluvial paleosols. Geological Society of America Bulletin: Vol. 110, No. 4, pp. 433–449.

Bestland, E. A., Retallack, G.J., Rice, A.E., and Mindszenty, A., 1996. Late Eocene detrital laterites in central Oregon: Mass balance geochemistry, depositional setting, and landscape evolution. Geological Society of America Bulletin: Vol. 108, No. 3, pp. 285–302.

Bestland, E.A., 2000. Weathering flux and CO₂ consumption determined from palaeosol sequences across the Eocene-Oligocene transition, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 156 (3-4), pp. 301-326.

Beukes, J., Dorland, H., Gutzmer, J., Nedachi, M., and Ohmoto, H., 2002. Tropical laterites, life on land, and the history of atmospheric oxygen in the Paleoproterozoic. Geology 30, pp. 491–494.

Bestland, E.A., 2002. Fossil andisols identified with mass-balance geochemistry (Oligocene John Day Formation, Oregon, USA). Journal Sedimentary Research 72(5). [PDF file]

Birkeland, P., 1999. Soils and Geomorphology. Oxford University Press, 432p.

Buck, B.J., and Mack, G.H., 1995. Latest Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) aridity indicated by paleosols in the McRae Formation, south-central New Mexico. Cretaceous Research 16(5), pp. 559-572.

Driese, S.G., et al., 1994. Paleoweathering of Mississippian Monteagle Limestone preceding development of a lower Chesterian transgressive systems tract and sequence boundary, middle Tennessee and northern Alabama. Geological Society of America Bulletin: Vol. 106, No. 7, pp. 866–878.

Driese, S.G., Mora, C.I., and Elick, J.M., 1997. Morphology and Taphonomy of Root Traces and Stump Casts of the Earliest Trees (Middle to Late Devonian), Pennsylvania and New York, USA. Palaios, 12(6), pp. 524-537.

Driese, S.G., et al., 2000. Mass-balance reconstruction of a modern Vertisol: implications for interpreting the geochemistry and burial alteration of paleo-Vertisols. Geoderma, Vol. 95 (3-4), pp. 179-204.

Driese et al, 2003. Comparison of modern and ancient Vertisols developed on limestone in terms of their geochemistry and parent material. Sedimentary Geology 157, 49-69.

Dunagan, S.P., and Driese, S.G., 1999. Control of terrestrial stabilization on Late Devonian palustrine carbonate deposition: Catskill Magnafacies, New York: Journal of Sedimentary Research 69, pp. 772-783.

Ekart, D.D., and Cerling, T.E., 1999. A 400 Million Year record of atmospheric carbon dioxide deduced from pedogenic carbonates. Environmental Geosciences 6(3), pp. 152.

Elick, J. M., Driese, S.G., and Mora, C., 1998. Very large plant and root traces from the Early to Middle Devonian: Implications for early terrestrial ecosystems and atmospheric p(CO₂). Geology: Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 143–146.

Genise, J.F., et al., 2002. Fossil bee nests, coleopteran pupal chambers and tuffaceous paleosols from the Late Cretaceous Laguna Palacios Formation, Central Patagonia (Argentina). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 177(3-4), pp. 215-235.

Gill, S., amd Yemane, K., 1996. Implications of a Lower Pennsylvanian Ultisol for equatorial Pangean climates and early, oligotrophic, forest ecosystems. Geology: Vol. 24, No. 10, pp. 905–908.

Ghosh, P., 1997. Geomorphology and palaeoclimatology of some Upper Cretaceous palaeosols in central India, Sedimentary Geology 110 (1-2), pp. 25-49.

Gray, M.B., and Nickelsen, R.P., 1989: Pedogenic slickensides, indicators of strain and deformation processes in redbed sequences of the Appalachian foreland. Geology: Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 72–75.

Gutzmer, J., and Beukes, N.J., 1998. Earliest laterites and possible evidence for terrestrial vegetation in the Early Proterozoic. Geology: Vol. 26, No. 3, pp. 263–266.

Joeckel, R.M., 1995. Tectonic and paleoclimatic significance of a prominent upper Pennsylvanian (Virgilian/Stephanian) weathering profile, Iowa and Nebraska, USA, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 118 (3-4), pp. 159-179.

Kemp, R.A. and Zárate, M.A., 2000. Pliocene pedosedimentary cycles in the southern Pampas, Argentina. Sedimentology 47, 3-14.

Kraus, M.J., 1999. Paleosols in clastic sedimentary rocks: their geologic applications, Earth-Science Reviews 47 (1-2), pp. 41-70.

Krull, E. S., and Retallack, G.J., 2000. ^d13C depth profiles from paleosols across the Permian-Triassic boundary: Evidence for methane release. Geological Society of America Bulletin: Vol. 112, No. 9, pp. 1459–1472.

Leigh, D.S., 1996. Soil chronosequence of Brasstown Creek, Blue Ridge Mountains, USA, Catena 26 (1-2), pp. 99-114.

Lichter, J., 1998. Rates of weathering and chemical depletion in soils across a chronosequence of Lake Michigan sand dunes, Geoderma 85 (4), pp. 255-282.

Melchor, R.N., Genise, J.F., and Miquel, S.E., 2002. Ichnology, Sedimentology and Paleontology of Eocene Calcareous Paleosols From a Palustrine Sequence, Argentina. Palaios 17, pp. 16-35.

Migon, P., and Lidmar-Bergström, K., 2001. Weathering mantles and their significance for geomorphological evolution of central and northern Europe since the Mesozoic, Earth-Science Reviews 56 (1-4), pp. 285-324.

Mora, C.I., Sheldon, B.T., Elliott, W.C., and Driese, S.G., 1998. An oxygen isotope study of illite and calcite in three Appalachian Paleozoic vertic paleosols: Journal of Sedimentary Research 68, pp. 456-464.

Muhs D.R., 2001. Evolution of Soils on Quaternary Reef Terraces of Barbados, West Indies. Quaternary Research 56(1), pp. 66-78.

Murakami, T., et al., 2001. Satoshi Utsunomiya, Yoji Imazu and Nirankar Prasad, Direct evidence of late Archean to early Proterozoic anoxic atmosphere from a product of 2.5 Ga old weathering, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 184 (2), pp. 523-528.

Nieuwenhuyse, A., et al., 2000. P.S.J. Verburg and A.G. Jongmans, Mineralogy of a soil chronosequence on andesitic lava in humid tropical Costa Rica, Geoderma 98 (1-2), pp. 61-82.

Nordt, L., Atchley, S., Dworkin, S.I., 2002. Paleosol barometer indicates extreme fluctuations in atmospheric CO₂ across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary. Geology 30, pp. 703–706.

O'Geen, A.T., and Busacca, A.J., 2001. Faunal burrows as indicators of paleo-vegetation in eastern Washington, USA, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 169 (1-2), pp. 23-37.

Ohmoto, H., 1996. Evidence in pre–2.2 Ga paleosols for the early evolution of atmospheric oxygen and terrestrial biota. Geology: Vol. 24, No. 12, pp. 1135–1138.

Quade, J., et al., 1995. Late Miocene environmental change in Nepal and the northern Indian subcontinent: Stable isotopic evidence from paleosols. Geological Society of America Bulletin: Vol. 107, No. 12, pp. 1381–1397.

Rankey, E.C., and Farr, M.R., 1997. Preserved pedogenic mineral magnetic signature, pedogenesis, and paleoclimate change: Pennsylvanian Roca Shale (Virgilian, Asselian), central Kansas, USA, Sedimentary Geology 114 (1-4), pp. 11-32.

Retallack, G.J., 1990. Soils of the past: an introduction to paleopedology. Blackwell Science, 512p.

Retallack, G.J., and Krull, E., 1996. Permian and Triassic paleosols and paleoenvironments of the central Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Antarctic Journal of the United States Review 1996.

Retallack, G.J., 1997. Early Forest Soils and Their Role in Devonian Global Change. Science 276, pp. 583-585.

Retallack, G.J., 1999. Carboniferous Fossil Plants and Soils of an Early Tundra Ecosystem. Palaios 14(4), pp. 324-336.

Retallack, G.J., 2001a. Cenozoic expansion of grasslands and climatic cooling. Journal of Geology 109, pp. 407-226.

Retallack, G.J., 2001b. Scoyenia burrows from Ordovician palaeosols of the Juniata Formation in Pennsylvania. Palaeontology 44, pp. 209-235.

Retallack, G.J., Tanaka, S., and Tate, T., 2002a. Late Miocene advent of tall grassland paleosols in Oregon. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 183, pp. 329-354.

Sheldon, N.D., Retallack, G.J., and Tanaka, S., 2002. Geochemical Climofunctions from North American Soils and Application to Paleosols across the Eocene-Oligocene Boundary in Oregon. Journal of Geology 110, pp. 687-696.

Simon-Coinçon, R., et al., 1997. Variety and relationships of weathering features along the early Tertiary palaeosurface in the southwestern French Massif Central and the nearby Aquitaine Basin, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 129 (1-2), pp. 51-79.

Stiles, C.A., Mora, C.I., Driese, S.G., and Robinson, A.C., 2003. Distinguishing climate and time in the soil record: Mass-balance trends in Vertisols from the Texas coastal prairie. Geology 31, 331–334.

Tandon, S. K., M. R. Gibling, 1994. Calcrete and coal in late Carboniferous cyclothems of Nova Scotia, Canada: Climate and sea-level changes linked. Geology 22, pp. 755–758.

Tandon. S.K., and Gibling, M.R., 1997. Calcrete at sequence boundaries in Upper Carboniferous cyclothems of the Sydney Basin, Atlantic Canada. Sedimentary Geology 112, pp. 43-67.

Terry, D.O., Jr., 2001. Paleopedology of the Chadron Formation of Northwestern Nebraska: implications for paleoclimatic change in the North American midcontinent across the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 168 (1-2), pp. 1-38.

Webb, G.E., 1994. Paleokarst, paleosol, and rocky-shore deposits at the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian unconformity, northwestern Arkansas. Geological Society of America Bulletin: Vol. 106, No. 5, pp. 634–648.

Williams, G.A., and Krause, F.F., 1998. Pedogenic-phreatic carbonates on a Middle Devonian (Givetian) terrigenous alluvial-deltaic plain, Gilwood Member (Watt Mountain Formation), northcentral Alberta, Canada. Sedimentology 45, pp. 1105-1124.

Wright, V.P., Turner, M.S, Andrews, J.E., and Spiro, B., 1995. Morphology and significance of super-mature calcretes from the Upper Old Red Sandstone of Scotland. Journal of the Geological Society 150, pp. 871-883.

Wright, V.P., Platt, N.H., Marriott, S.B., and Beck, V.H., 1995. A classification of rhizogenic (root-formed) calcretes, with examples from the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous of Spain and Upper Cretaceous of southern France. Sedimentary Geology 100, pp. 143-158.

Wynn, J.G., and Retallack, G.J., 2001. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of middle Miocene paleosols bearing Kenyapithecus andVictoriapithecus , Nyakach Formation, southwestern Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution 40, pp 263-288.