Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-n9wrp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T12:00:51.009Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Clay Mineral Distribution in the Hiawatha Sandy Soils of Northern Wisconsin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

B. E. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Soils, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
M. L. Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Soils, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA

Abstract

Mineralogical analyses were made of the day, silt, and sand fractions of the Podzols Hiawatha loamy sand and Hiawatha sand. The layer silicates show chemical weathering as a function of depth in both soils. A high charge dioctahedral montmorillonite was dominant in all fractions (−5µ) of the A2 horizon and its origin was attributed to weathering of an interstratified vermiculite-chlorite similar to that in the B2 horizon. The 2 to 0.2µ fraction of the Hiawatha loamy sand B2 horizon contains 14 percent chlorite and 18 percent vermiculite with no montmorillonite, and the Hiawatha loamy sand A2 horizon contains 33 percent montmorillonite with little interstratified chlorite-vermiculite. Quartz also showed a soil depth function in the fine silt. It is higher in amount in the A2 than the B2 horizon, attributable to its relative stability in the Podzol A2. Below the B2 it drops markedly in amount, attributable to a difference in silt deposition.

The similarity of ratios of resistant heavy minerals (greater than 2.95 sp. gr.) in different horizons indicates uniform origin of the sand fractions of these soils. Light mineral contents in the sand fractions for all analyzed horizons are also similar. However, particle size data indicate silt and possible clay addition to both the A2 and B2 horizons.

Depth functions in these soils are developed to a marked extent, apparently owing to (1) low amount of fine fraction originally present for weathering, (2) greater amount of water cycled through the A2 than the B2 horizon, (3) rapid and frequent cycling of available water owing to coarse texture, and possibly (4) effects of podzolization. The Omega, Ahmeek, and Iron River soils of northern Wisconsin also showed a similar though not so marked tendency to accumulate montmorillonite in the A2 horizon.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 1956

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

This work was supported in part by the University Research Committee through a grant of funds from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

References

Bray, R. H., 1937, The significance of the weathering loss of K and Mg in soil colloids extracted from Illinois soils: Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., v. 1, p. 153159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brindley, G. W., and Ali, S. Z., 1950, X-ray study of thermal transformations in some magnesian chlorite minerals. Acta Cryst., v. 3, p. 2530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brindley, G. W., and Gillery, F. H., 1956, X-ray identification of chlorite species: Amer. Min., v. 41, p. 169186.Google Scholar
Brown, George, 1951, Nomenclature of the mica clay minerals: in X-ray identification and crystal structures of clay minerals: Mineralogical Society, London, p. 155172.Google Scholar
Brown, George, 1953, The dioctahedral analogue of vermiculite: Clay Minerals Bull., v. 2, p. 6470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, J. R., 1953, The geochemistry and mineralogy of rock weathering. I. The Lizard area, Cornwall: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 4, p. 157178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corey, R. B., and Jackson, M. L., 1953, Silicate analysis by a rapid semimicrochemical system: Anal. Chem., v. 25, p. 624628.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haseman, J. F., and Marshall, C. E., 1945, The use of heavy minerals in studies of the origin and development of soils: Univ. of Mo. Agr. Expt. Sta. Research Bull. 387, 75 p.Google Scholar
Hseung, Y., Marshall, C. E., and Krusekopf, H. H., 1950, On the origin of gumbotil: Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., v. 14, p. 311315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, M. L., Hseung, Y., Corey, R. B., Evans, E. J., and Vanden Heuvel, R. C., 1952, Weathering sequence of clay-size minerals in soils and sediments: II. Chemical weathering of layer silicates: Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., v. 16, p. 36.Google Scholar
Jackson, M. L., Whittig, L. D., and Pennington, R. P., 1950, Segregation procedure for the mineralogical analysis of soils: Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., v. 14, p. 7781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, W. A., 1955, A review of the mineralogy of Scottish soil clays: J. Soil Sci., v. 6, p. 9498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rich, C. I., and Obenshain, S. S., 1955, Chemical and clay mineral properties of a Red- Yellow Podzolic soil derived from muscovite schist: Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc., v. 19, p. 334339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rolfe, B. N., and Jeffries, C. D., 1952, A new criterion for weathering in soils: Science, v. 116, p. 599.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swindale, L. D., and Fieldes, M., 1952, Rapid semimicro method for cation exchange capacities of clays and soils with the flame photometer: Soil Sci., v. 74, p. 287290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swindale, L. D., and Jackson, M. L., 1956, Genetic processes in some residual podzolized soils of New Zealand: Trans. 6th Int. Cong. Soil Sci., v. 5, p. 233239.Google Scholar
Vanden Heuvel, R. C., and Jackson, M. L., 1953, Surface determination of mineral colloids by glycerol sorption and its application to interstratified layer silicates: Agronomy Abstracts, Annual Meeting Amer. Soc. of Agron., Dallas, Texas.Google Scholar
Whittig, L. D., and Jackson, M. L., 1955, Interstratified layer silicates in some soils of northern Wisconsin: In Clays and Clay Minerals, Natl, Acad. Sci.—Natl. Res. Council, pub. 395, p. 322336.Google Scholar