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Environmental Geology > Soils > Flashcards

Soils Flashcards

1
Q

What is engineering definition of soils?

A

Any solid earth material that can be removed without blasting

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2
Q

What is the soil scientist definition of soils?

A

Any solid earth material that has been altered by physical, chemical, and organic processes such that it can support rooted plant life.

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3
Q

What are residual soils?

A

Soils composed of insoluble weathered material that remains in place

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4
Q

What are transported soils?

A

Soils composed of weathered material that has been transported by water, wind, and ice

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5
Q

What other systems define the open soil system?

A

Climate, topography, parent material, time, and organic processes

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6
Q

What are the 6 horizons of soil?

A

O, A, E, B, C, R

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7
Q

What is the O horizon?

A

Mainly organic materials and is often dark brown or black

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8
Q

What is the A horizon?

A

Mixture of mineral and organic materials, and is generally light black to brown

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9
Q

What is leaching?

A

Process of dissolving, washing, or draining earth materials by percolation of groundwater or other liquids that occurs in A horizon and moves clays and other materials to B horizon

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10
Q

What is the E horizon?

A

Light colored materials as a result of leaching of clay and minerals to lower horizons

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11
Q

What is the zone of leaching?

A

Horizon A + E

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12
Q

What is horizon B?

A

Enriched horizon of clay and other earth materials leached from higher horizons

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13
Q

What is B horizon also known as?

A

Zone of accumulation

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14
Q

What is the C horizon?

A

Partially altered parent material

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15
Q

What is the R horizon?

A

Unaltered parent material

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16
Q

What color are well-drained soils?

A

Red

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17
Q

What color are poorly-drained soils?

A

Yellow

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18
Q

What are the engineering classifications for soil?

A

clay, silt, sand, particles

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19
Q

What size is clay?

A

<0.004 mm

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20
Q

What size is silt?

A

0.004-0.074 mm

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21
Q

What size is sand?

A

0.074 - 2.0 mm

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22
Q

What size are particles?

A

> 2.0 mm

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23
Q

What textures are sand, silt, and clay by feel?

A

Gritty, baking powder, cohesive

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24
Q

What are the four types of soil aggregates, or peds?

A

Granular, blocky, prismatic, and platy

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25
Q

What is the size range for granular aggregates and what zone is it found in?

A

1-10 mm; A mostly, but also B and C

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26
Q

What is the size range for blocky aggregates and what zone is it found in?

A

5-50 mm; B

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27
Q

What is the size range for prismatic aggregates and what zone is it found in?

A

10-100; B

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28
Q

What is the size range for platy aggregates and what zone is it found in?

A

1-10 mm; E mostly, but also sometimes B

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29
Q

What is soil fertility?

A

Capacity of soils to supply nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus

30
Q

Where are soils naturally fertile?

A

Some flood plains and glacial deposits

31
Q

Where are soils low in fertility?

A

Where highly leachable bedrock or loose deposits with little organic material

32
Q

What are saturated soils?

A

All pore spaces are filled with water

33
Q

What are unsaturated soils?

A

Some pore space is not filled with water

34
Q

What is water content/moisture content?

A

Amount of water in the soil

35
Q

Where is water flow fastest and slowest?

A

Fastest in pore spaces, and slowest near the edges of pores

36
Q

Where is soil science taxonomy useful?

A

Agriculture

37
Q

How is soil taxonomy divided?

A

Order, suborder, great groups, subgroups, families, and series

38
Q

How are soil orders determined?

A

Number of type of present horizons, nutrient status, organic content, color, and general climatic conditions

39
Q

What soil classification is used by engineers?

A

Unified Soil Classification System

40
Q

How does the Unified Soil Classification System classify soils?

A

Predominant particle size or abundance of organic material

41
Q

What is plasticity?

A

Related to the water content of the soil

42
Q

What is Liquid Limit (LL)?

A

water content above which a soil behaves as a liquid

43
Q

What is Plastic Limit (PL)?

A

water content below which soil no longer behaves as a plastic materal

44
Q

What is the plasticity index (PI)

A

numerical difference between LL and PL that represents that range moisture content within which soils behaves like a plastic material

45
Q

What is soil strength?

A

Ability of soil to resist deformation

46
Q

What is cohesion?

A

Measure of the ability of soil particles to stick together

47
Q

What is frictional force?

A

Function of density, size, and shape of the soil particles as well as the weight of overlying particles forcing the grains together

48
Q

Where are cohesion and frictional forces most significant?

A

In coarse-grained soils rich in sand and gravel

49
Q

What is sensitivity?

A

Measures changes in soil strength resulting from disturbances

50
Q

What soil compositions are least sensitive?

A

Those composed of sand and gravel, with no clay

51
Q

What is compressibility?

A

Measure of soil’s tendency to consolidate, or decrease in volume

52
Q

What soils have high and low compressibility?

A

High: fine grains or organic soils; Low: coarse grained composed of gravel or sand

53
Q

What is erodibility?

A

Ease of which soil materials can be removed via wind or water

54
Q

What soils are easily eroded?

A

Unprotected silts, sands, and other loosely consolidated material

55
Q

What soils are not easily eroded?

A

Cohesive soils composed of >20% clays, and naturally cemented soils

56
Q

What is permeability?

A

Measure of ease with which water moves through the material

57
Q

What has the highest and lowest permeability?

A

Clean gravels and sands; clays

58
Q

What is corrosion?

A

Slow weathering or chemical decomposition that proceeds from surface into the ground

59
Q

What defines a highly corrosive soil?

A

High ability to carry electric current

60
Q

What is the ease of excavation?

A

What is required to remove the soil

61
Q

What are three types of excavation?

A

Common excavation, rippable excavation, blasting or rock cutting

62
Q

What is a rill?

A

A thin narrow channel indicating soil erosion that have the same slope as the gradient

63
Q

What is a gully?

A

A wide non-parallel channel indicating soil erosion

64
Q

What is non-till agriculture?

A

Agriculture method that eliminates tilling and significantly reduces soil erosion

65
Q

What is contour plowing?

A

Plowing in conjunction with the natural contours of the land, with furrows perpendicular to the slope of the land

66
Q

What are terracing slopes?

A

Established on steep slopes and minimizes erosion as long as it is maintained

67
Q

What is sediment pollution?

A

Number one polluter that causes soil depletion from origin site, choking of water systems, and burying of vegetation

68
Q

What are treatment options for soil pollution?

A
  1. Excavation and proper disposal
  2. Incineration
  3. Bioremediation
69
Q

What are required for underground storage tanks?

A
  1. Double walled
  2. Leak detection
  3. Est. environmental program
70
Q

What is desertification?

A

Conversion of land from productive state to that resembling a desert

71
Q

What are the causes of desertification?

A
  1. Over-grazing
  2. Deforestation
  3. Adverse soil erosion
  4. Poor drainage of irrigated land
  5. Over use of water supplies
72
Q
A

Environmental Geology (5 decks)

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