Title: Soil-Geomorphic Relations of Florida: 20 Million Years of Marine Influence
Lead Community Sponsor:
Cosponsor: SSSA Division: Pedology, SSSA Division: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils
Community Cosponsor:
Format: None (Admin Only)
Keywords: Beach, Geomorphology, Pedology and Urban
Session Description: Thursday, October 19, 5:00 PM—9:00 PM Friday, October 20, 7:00 AM—6:00 PM Saturday, October 21, 7:00 AM—4:00 PM Relict shoreline features are the predominate geomorphic feature of the southeastern United States Coastal Plain. These features (which extend as far south as Lake Okeechobee and as far north as New Jersey) are derived from post-Miocene marine regressions and delineate areas of high and low energy marine deposition. Pedogenesis on the Coastal Plain is inextricably tied to the depositional environment in which sediments were deposited (high energy deposition concentrates coarse sediments more than low energy deposition), and ultimately the distribution, properties, and services of contemporary soils depend on their spatial relationship to relict shoreline features. This tour will utilize the remarkable soil diversity in north-central Florida to examine: (1) how variations in sea level and marine deposition over the last five million years have shaped the Coastal Plain surface, (2) how this depositional history influences pedogenesis and the distribution of Coastal Plain soils, and (3) how contemporary human activities and management interact with these pedogenic and geomorphic processes.During this two-day tour participants will see and discuss a variety of deep soil profiles (some more than 10 meters), have multiple opportunities to auger for themselves, and get hands on experience with pedologically influenced marine sediments of Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene age. Participates should fly into Jacksonville, FL on October 19. The tour will end in Tampa, FL on Oct 21.