week 05 - soils

Question 1

microclimate

Answer 1

local climate conditions that differ from regional climate; caused by topography, vegetation, humans, etc

Question 2

basic atmospheric principles

Answer 2

• hot air rises (less dense)
• cold air sinks (more dense)
• air moves from hot high pressure to cold low pressure
• hot air holds more water
• changes to veg can affect:
  
  • soil & air temps
  • wind patterns
  • humidity
  • light

Question 3

solar radiation

Answer 3

• shortwave from the sun (visible, near UV, near IR)
• longwave, outgoing from earth (low energy IR)
• warmest: open area, late afternoon (no veg protection)
• coldest: open area, early morning (no veg insulation)

Question 4

topographic effects on winds

Answer 4

• sunrise: down valley
• midday: up valley
• early evening: up valley
• late evening: down valley

Question 5

frost pocket

Answer 5

• cold air flows down slopes, forcing warm air to rise
• obstructions on slope can form localized cold pockets

Question 6

soil profile/horizons

Answer 6

• (note: rare to have all horizons in 1 profile)
• O: organic surface litter, typically in tropics and wetlands
• A: topsoil; org. matter (humus); living orgs; inorg minerals
• E: zone of leaching; gray/white
• B: subsoil; accumulation of iron, aluminum, etc
• C: weathered parent material; partially broken down inorg minerals
• bedrock

Question 7

soil series

Answer 7

• lowest level of classification (like species)
• Puget Sound types:
  
  • glacial till
  • glacial outwash
  • alderwood
  • everett

Question 8

geomorphology / slope stability

Answer 8

• the study of landforms & their relationship to underlying rocks
• soil type is typ. related to slope stability
• Su: summit
• Sh: shoulder slope
• Bs: bachslope (?)
• Fs: footslope
• Ts: toeslope

Question 9

4 keys to environmental characterization

Answer 9

1. Gather available knowledge of site
2. Develop plan for collecting data
3. Understand limitations of instruments, chem analysis…
4. Make sure data collection will address needs w/o artifacts, bias, or waste

Question 10

soil lab revealed St. Ed soils to be…

Answer 10

• A: Indianola
• B: Kitsap
• C: Ragnar: sandy loam / loamy sand, glacial outwash
• D: unknown

Question 11

horizon N conc. calc.

Answer 11

• soil N conc * BD * Horizon D * Mass conv * Area conv
• for total in SOIL, calc each horizon, then sum them all

3mg N / g soil *

1.1 g soil / cm² * cm *

8 cm / 1

1 kg / 10⁶ mg

10⁸ cm² / ha

= 2640 kg N / ha, per 8cm horizon

or 2.64 Mg N / ha

Question 12

glacial till / outwash

Answer 12

• till: unsorted sediment deposited directly by glacial ice. Glacial till is a soft rock identified by large angular rock fragments on the surface and within the soil. Because of their huge mass, ice sheets flow outward as if they were huge piles of peanut butter
• outwash: deposit of sand and gravel carried by running water from the melting ice of a glacier and laid down in stratified deposits.