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Soil

Soil. Soil Formation. What is soil? a loose covering of weathered rock particles decaying organic matter, called HUMUS , overlying the bedrock of Earth’s surface, and serves as a medium for the growth of plants

zephr-horton
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Soil

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  1. Soil

  2. Soil Formation • What is soil? • a loose covering of weathered rock particles decaying organic matter, called HUMUS, overlying the bedrock of Earth’s surface, and serves as a medium for the growth of plants Soil is the product of thousands of years of chemical and mechanical weathering

  3. Soil Development • Weathering breaks down solid bedrock into smaller pieces • These pieces undergo continuous weathering and breakdown into smaller pieces • Worms and other organisms help breakdown organic matter and add nutrients to the soil as well as creating passages of air for water to enter.

  4. Soil Layers • (O) Organic matter (A) Weathered rock • (B) Residual Soil • (C)Bedrock

  5. Soil Layers • Organic Matter: Made of Leaf Litter and Humus • Weathered Rock: combined with rich dark brown organic matter • Residual Soil: enriched over time by clay and minerals deposited by the water above • Bedrock (parent Soil): little to no organic matter; oldest layer

  6. Ground Water

  7. The Hydrosphere: water on and in Earth’s crust • 97% contained in the oceans • 3% of this water contained by landmasses (nearly all freshwater) • More than 90% of freshwater on Earth in the form of polar ice caps and glaciers • Remaining freshwater is groundwater • Rivers, streams, lakes only small portion of Earth’s freshwater

  8. Precipitation and Groundwater • Evaporation of ocean waters, forms clouds/precipitation, weather systems and winds move this moisture build up all over Earth • Falls to land and enters ground through infiltration, becoming groundwater • Groundwatermove through ground, returns to surface via springs, then flows back to oceans.

  9. Groundwater Storage: Where does the water go? • Soils consist of particles and pores. These pores can be filled with air but also with water. The amount of pores in soil is different for different types of soil. • Zone of Saturation: depth below Earth’s surface at which groundwater completely fills all the pores of a material • Upper boundary of this zone= water table • Only the water in the zone of saturation is called groundwater

  10. The Water Table • Depth varies with local conditions • Water table fluctuates with season and weather conditions because of its dependence on precipitation

  11. Groundwater Movement • Flows downhill in direction of slope of the water table • Moves extremely slow because the water has to travel through numerous tiny pores • Ability of material to let water pass= permeability • Large connected pores= high permeability (sand and gravel) • Silt and clay=tiny pores=impermeable

  12. Aquifers Most groundwater flows through permeable layers known as aquifers Aquicludes: barriers to groundwater flow

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