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Quaternary Buried Paleosols: A Critical Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

K.W.G. Valentine  and
J.B. Dalrymple
K.W.G. Valentine
Affiliation:
Agriculture Canada, Soil Research Institute, 6660 N. W. Marine Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1X2, Canada, Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Berkshire, England
J.B. Dalrymple
Affiliation:
Agriculture Canada, Soil Research Institute, 6660 N. W. Marine Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1X2, Canada, Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Berkshire, England
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Abstract

A review of work on buried paleosols in the disciplines of pedology, Quaternary geology, and archaeology is presented under the headings of (1) the problems of identification, (2) techniques of study, (3) buried paleosols and Quaternary stratigraphy, (4) archaeological stratigraphy and dating, (5) layered soils, and (6) past environment from buried paleosols. It is suggested that future pedological research of interest to Quaternary studies should concentrate on clarifying what is a soil as opposed to a weathered sediment, what processes and features are peculiar to pedogenesis as opposed to diagenesis, and what are the relationships between soil-site conditions and soil characteristics.

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Type
Review Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , June 1976 , pp. 209 - 222
Copyright
University of Washington

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