Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xm8r8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T00:33:33.808Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Loess in the mid-Atlantic region, USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2018

John S. Wah ,
Daniel P. Wagner  and
Darrin L. Lowery
John S. Wah*
Affiliation:
Matapeake Soil and Environmental Consultants, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 17257, USA Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
Daniel P. Wagner
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA Geo-Sci Consultants, University Park, Maryland 20782, USA
Darrin L. Lowery
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA Chesapeake Watershed Archaeological Research Foundation, Easton, Maryland 21601, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: P.O. Box 186, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania 17257, USA. E-mail address: matapeake.soil@gmail.com (J.S. Wah).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Loess is common in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States south of the Late Wisconsinan glacial border particularly along rivers draining the glaciated areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The broadest deposits occur on the flat landscapes of the Delmarva Peninsula in Maryland where two episodes of deposition have been identified. The earlier Miles Point Loess has a limited distribution and is buried by the more widespread Paw Paw Loess. OSL and 14C dates place deposition of the Miles Point Loess during MIS 3. The well developed paleosol formed in the Miles Point Loess acts as a stratigraphic marker. The Paw Paw Loess buries Clovis age cultural materials which date deposition to the end of the Pleistocene. Loess deposits and paleosols are critical in understanding regional landscape evolution, Late Pleistocene environments, and early North American cultural history. Mapping the extent of loess in the Mid-Atlantic using the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s gSSURGO database overrepresents loess in some areas and underrepresents in others.

Keywords

LoessMid-AtlanticMarylandDelmarvaPennsylvaniaNew JerseyVirginiaPaleosolPre-ClovisLandscape evolution
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 89 , Issue 3: INQUA LoessFest 2016 , May 2018 , pp. 786 - 796
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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.)

References

REFERENCES

Berg, T.M., Edmunds, W.E., Geyer, A.R., Glover, A.D., Hoskins, D.M., MacLachlan, D.B., Root, S.I., Sevon, W.D., Socolow, A.A., 1980. Geologic Map of Pennsylvania. 2nd ed. Pennsylvania Geological Survey, Middletown, PA.Google Scholar
Bettis, E.A. III, Muhs, D.R., Roberts, H.M., Wintle, A.G., 2003. Last Glacial loess in the conterminous USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, 1907–1946.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braun, D.D., 2006. Deglaciation of the Appalachian Plateau, northeastern Pennsylvania – till shadows, till knobs forming “beaded valleys”: revisiting systematic stagnation-zone retreat. Geomorphology 75, 248–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C., 2009. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 51, 337–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, J.B., Cunningham, R.L., Williams, E.G., 1976. Loess identification in soils of southeastern Pennsylvania. Soil Science Society of America Journal 40, 745–750.Google Scholar
Ciolkosz, E.J., 2000. Radiocarbon Dates for Pennsylvania Soils. Agronomy Series Number 146. Agronomy Department, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Ciolkosz, E.J., Cronce, R.C., Sevon, W.D., 1986. Periglacial Features in Pennsylvania. Agronomy Series Number 92. Agronomy Department, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.Google Scholar
Colman, S.M., Bratton, J.F., Baucom, P.C., 2000. Radiocarbon dating of Marion-Dufresne cores MD99-2204, -2207, and -2209, Chesapeake Bay. In: Cronin, T.M. (Ed.), Initial Report on the IMAGES V Cruise of the Marion-Dufresne to the Chesapeake Bay, June 20–22, 1999. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Open-File Report 00-306 Online Version 1.0. USGS, Reston, VA.Google Scholar
Denny, C.S., Owens, J.P., Sirkin, L., Rubin, M., 1979. The Parsonsburg Sand in the central Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland and Delaware. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1067-B. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Dillon, W.P., Oldale, R.N., 1978. Late Quaternary sea-level curve: reinterpretation based on glacioeustatic influence. Geology 6: 56–60.Google Scholar
Fairbanks, R.G., 1989. A 17,000-year glacio-eustatic sea level record: influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature 342, 637–642.Google Scholar
Feldman, S.B., Zelanzy, L.W., Pavich, M.J., Millard, H.T., 2000. Late Pleistocene eolian activity and post-depositional alteration on the Piedmont of northern Virginia. Southeastern. Geology 39, 183–198.Google Scholar
Foss, J.E., Fanning, D.S., Miller, F.P., Wagner, D.P., 1978. Loess deposits of the eastern shore of Maryland. Soil Science Society of America Journal 42, 329–334.Google Scholar
Horton, B.P., Peltier, W.R., Culver, S.J., Drummond, R., Engelhart, S.E., Kemp, A.C., Mallinson, D., et al., 2009. Holocene sea-level changes along the North Carolina coastline and their implications for glacial isostatic adjustment models. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, 1725–1736.Google Scholar
Lothrop, J.C., Lowery, D.L., Spiess, A.E., Ellis, C.J., 2016. Early human settlement of northeastern North America. PaleoAmerica 2, 192–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowery, D.L., 2016. A Coastal Archaeological Survey and Shoreline Erosion Assessment of Accomack and Northampton Counties, Virginia. National Park Service and Virginia Department of Historic Resources, Richmond, VA.Google Scholar
Lowery, D.L., O’Neal, M.A., Wah, J.S., Wagner, D.P., Stanford, D.J., 2010. Late Pleistocene upland stratigraphy of the western Delmarva Peninsula, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews 29, 1472–1480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowery, D.L., Stanford, D.J., 2013. A Paleoindian Encampment at 44NH233: An Inundated Coastal Paleoindian Site along the Atlantic Seashore of the Delmarva Peninsula. Smithsonian Institution Research Reports. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Markewich, H.W., Litwin, R.J., Wysocki, D.A., Pavich, M.J., 2015. Synthesis on Quaternary aeolian research in the unglaciated eastern United States. Aeolian Research 17, 139–191.Google Scholar
Matthews, E.D., 1963. Soil Survey of Dorchester County, Maryland. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
McHugh, C.M., Hartin, C.A., Mountain, G.S., Gould, H.M., 2010. The role of glacio-eustasy in sequence formation: Mid-Atlantic Continental Margin, USA. Marine Geology 277, 31–47.Google Scholar
Millette, J.F.G., Higbee, H.W., 1958. Periglacial loess, I morphological properties. American Journal of Science 256, 284–293.Google Scholar
Muhs, D.R., 2007. Loess deposits, origins and properties. In: Elias, S.A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1405–1418.Google Scholar
Oldale, R.N., Colman, S.M., Jones, G.A., 1991. Radiocarbon ages from two submerged strandline features in the western Gulf of Maine and a sea-level curve for the northeastern Massachusetts coastal region. Quaternary Research 40, 38–45.Google Scholar
Peltier, L.C., 1949. Pleistocene Terraces of the Susquehanna River. Pennsylvania Geological Survey Bulletin G-23. Department of Internal Affairs and Topographic and Geologic Survey, Harrisburg, PA.Google Scholar
Perkins, S.O., Hershberger, M., 1929. Soil Survey Report of Talbot County, Maryland. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Puseman, K., Yost, C., Nurse, A., 2014. Macrofloral, Phytolith, and Pollen Analysis of Peat from Elliot’s Island and Paleosol Samples from Parson’s Island, Maryland. Technical Report 13006. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Pye, K., 1987. Aeolian Dust and Dust Deposits. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Rabenhorst, M.C., Foss, J.E., Fanning, D.S., 1982. Genesis of Maryland soils formed from serpentinite. Soil Science Society of America Journal 45, 1156–1160.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Blackwell, P.G., Bronk Ramsey, C., Grootes, P.M., et al., 2013. IntCal13 and Marine13 radiocarbon age calibration curves 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 55, 1869–1887.Google Scholar
Rick, T.C., Barber, M., Lowery, D.L., Wah, J.S., Madden, M., 2015. Early woodland coastal foraging at the Savage Neck shell midden (44NH478), Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. Archaeology of Eastern North America 43, 22–38.Google Scholar
Ridge, J.C., 2003. The last deglaciation of the northeastern United States: a combined varve, paleomagnetic, and calibrated 14C chronology. In: Cremeens, D.L., Hart, J.P. (Eds.), Geoarchaeology of Landscapes in the Glaciated Northeast. New York State Museum Bulletin No. 497. University of the State of New York, State Education Department, Albany, pp. 15–45.Google Scholar
Roberts, H.M., Muhs, D.R., Bettis, E.A. III, 2007. Loess records – North America. In: Elias, S.A. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1456–1466.Google Scholar
Sevon, W.D., Braun, D.D., 1997. Glacial Deposits of Pennsylvania. Map 59. 2nd ed. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Topographic and Geologic Survey, Harrisburg, PA.Google Scholar
Simonson, R.W., 1982. Loess in soils of Delaware, Maryland, and northeastern Virginia. Soil Science 133, 167–178.Google Scholar
Stanford, D.J., Bradley, B.A., 2012. Across Atlantic Ice. University of California Press, Berkeley.Google Scholar
Tedrow, J., MacClintock, P., 1953. Loess in New Jersey soil materials. Soil Science 75, 19–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorp, J., Smith, H.T.U., Baldwin, M., Bowser, W.E., Flint, R.F., Gould, L.M., Moss, H.C., Reed, E.C., Smith, G.D., Trowbridge, A.C., 1952. Pleistocene Eolian Deposits of the United States, Alaska, and Parts of Canada. Geological Society of America, New York.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2016a. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database: Delaware (FY2016 official release) (accessed November 16, 2015). https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2016b. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database: District of Columbia (FY2016 official release) (accessed November 16, 2015). https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2016c. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database: Maryland (FY2016 official release) (accessed November 16, 2015). https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2016d. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database: New Jersey (FY2016 official release) (accessed November 16, 2015). https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2016e. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database: Pennsylvania (FY2016 official release) (accessed November 16, 2015). https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2016f. Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) Database: Virginia (FY2016 official release) (accessed November 16, 2015). https://gdg.sc.egov.usda.gov/.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Survey Staff. 2017. Official Soil Series Descriptions (Unadilla Series) (accessed March 17, 2017). https://soilseries.sc.egov.usda.gov/OSD_Docs/U/UNADILLA.html.Google Scholar
Wah, J.S., 2003. The Origin and Pedogenic History of Quaternary Silts on the Delmarva Peninsula in Maryland. PhD dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar
Wah, J.S., Wagner, D.P., Lowery, D.L., 2014. Loess, landscape evolution, and pre-Clovis on the Delmarva Peninsula. In: Stanford, D.J., Stenger, A.T. (Eds.), Pre-Clovis in the Americas: International Science Conference Proceedings held at the Smithsonian Institution. Washington, DC, CreateSpace, North Charleston, SC. pp. 32–48.Google Scholar
Wright, W.R., 1972. Pedogenic and Geomorphic Relationships of Associated Paleudults in Southern Maryland. PhD dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar