Soil Composition and Texture
Soil composition and texture (i.e., particle-size distribution) vary, giving rise to different soil names. In this survey course, the names are not so import...
Soil
Soil Horizonation
Soils form in layers, called “horizons”.
Importance of Soils
Soils are critical to civilization.
Soil-forming Factors
Soils form in response to five key factors: Climate, Organisms, Relief, Parent Material, and Time.
Soil-forming Processes
Soils form via four major processes: addition, loss, transformation, and leaching.
Soil-production functions
Mathematical relationships for weathering of parent material (mostly bedrock) into soil.
Soil thickness through time
Integrating the soil-production function to see how thickness evolves over time.
Weathering
Physical, chemical, and biological weathering processes break down material on Earth’s surface, forming regolith and soils.
What is a Soil?
Soils are the critical outer carapice of Earth’s surface, where water, life, rock, and energy meet and form the basis for the world that we know.