The New York City Soil Survey
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The New York City Soil Survey Olga Vargas, USDA-NRCS Soil Scientist May 2018 New York City Soil Survey Program Since 1995 A partnership was established between: – NRCS – NYC-SWCD – Cornell University To address the complexities of urban needs with a multi-faceted soil survey program. The NYC Soil Survey Program a) Soil mapping & survey-related studies/special projects b) Onsite Investigations c) Soils training, workshops, lectures, conferences; outreach d) Volunteer & internship opportunities NYC Survey Methods: Differentiating Criteria “Native” Soils in NDM Naturally deposited materials (by ice, water, wind, etc.) Soils in HA-HTM Human-altered or human-transported mat’ls (fill) Miscellaneous Areas Urban land (sealed soils) Also Beaches, Rock outcrop, Dune land, etc. Soil series: similar parent material, 1:12,000 field sheet particle size & drainage class, sequence of horizons. We also differentiated HA-HTM soils by artifact type & content, and thickness of fill. NYC Survey Methods: Inputs Spatial data • Topo maps & DEMs • Geologic maps Remote imagery • Aerial photos Stereoscope & aerial photography Field observations Geologic maps USGS NYC Folio; Merrill et al., 1902 Guide to parent material, substratum type USGS national Geologic Map Dataset (PDF, GeoTiff, JPG, KMZ) https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_2490.htm NYC Survey Methods: Delineation soil – landscape units reflect: Topography Parent material Land use / cover Bunker Ponds Park, Staten Island USDA-NRCS NYC Soil Surveys acres scale msd Central Park 843 1:4,800 0.3 acres South Latourette Park 320 1:6,000 0.5 acres Gateway Nat Rec Area 6,300 1:4,800 0.3 acres Bronx River Watershed 6,900 1:6,000 0.5 acres Reconnaissance 193,024 1:62,500 40.0 acres City-Wide Initial 190,764 1:12,000 1.5 acres (Web Soil Survey available) NYC initial soil survey 1:12,000 scale (1.5 acre MSD) 236 Map units 37 “Natural” soil series (4 est. in NYC) 29 HAHT soil series (27 est. in NYC) • Clean fill – spolic (HAHT class) • Dredge materials – dredgic • Construction debris - artifactic • Coal & fly ash – combustic Bigapple series • Solid waste landfill - methanogenic Dredge materials Urban land mapunits – 6 substratum phases (from USGS map) Till Tidal marsh Outwash Sandy Alluvium Reclaimed NYC Citywide totals (USDA-NRCS Soil Survey) % of land area Urban land (sealed soils) 62.7 HAHT* (fill) Soils 27.6 “Native” Soils 8.6 Other Misc. Areas** 1.1 * Human-altered & human-transported **Rock outcrop, Beaches, etc. Cross Bronx Expressway (NY Times photo) NYC Pedodiversity Soil Type % of land area Sealed soils 62.6 Clean fill 16.4 Artifactual fill 6.0 Dredge fill 2.9 Brown till 2.6 Red till 2.1 Tidal marsh 2.0 Landfill 1.6 Outwash 1.5 Sand dunes 0.3 Coal ash 0.1 Serpentine 0.1 USDA-NRCS Soil Survey of New York City - 2013 1:12,000 scale (“Official” data) 1.5 acre (0.6 ha) minimum size delineation available on Web Soil Survey: http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm Create soil map & custom report for “Area of Interest” Download spatial & tabular data (by county/boro) Web Soil Survey: Soil Data Explorer Soil Properties and Qualities “aggregate” data • Soil Chemical Properties • Soil Physical Properties • Soil Erosion Factors • Soil Qualities and Features • Water Features Greenbelt soil “clean” fill Web Soil Survey: Soil Data Explorer Suitabilities and Limitations for Use • Building Site Development • Construction Materials • Disaster Recovery Planning • Land Classifications • Land Management • Military Operations • Recreational Development • Sanitary Facilities • Vegetative Productivity • Waste Management Mosholu soil • Water Management Coal combustion ash NRCS survey-related projects & Lab Data, NYC . 118 pedons sampled to date . Atmospheric inputs of trace metals in woodland soils . Manhattan trace metal/PAH background levels with Con-Edison . Infiltration & Land Use . Artifacts & trace metals . Citywide soil organic carbon stocks Lab Data Mart: “point” data https://ncsslabdatamart.sc.egov.usda.gov/ • Particle size (USDA & Engineering) • Bulk density • Water retention • pH & EC • CEC • Soil test analyses (extractions) • Total elemental analysis (C, N, S, etc.) • Trace metals • Mineralogy Laguardia soil construction debris NYC Soils available on: Soil Web Applications https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soilweb-apps NYC Soils available on Google Earth: http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soil_web/kml/mapunits.kml NYC Soils available in gSSURGO • Geospatial Data Gateway Direct Download • Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) by State • gSSURGO/SSURGO ArcTools (ArcGIS) . Create gSSURGO, download SSURGO and create interpretative soil maps; Soil Development Toolbox . Soil Data Viewer an extension to ArcMap that allows a user to create soil-based thematic maps • Value Added Look UP Table Database • Soil organic Carbon • Soil Data Access Query (SQL) Soil Systems of New York City Intro/Guide to NYC Soils Accompaniment to Web Soil Survey Info on parent materials, landscapes, properties (including lab data) of NYC soils Systems are distinct groups of soils or catenas produced by the interaction of geology, geomorphology, hydrology and climate. 34 total for NYC, including: Tidal soil system Red serpentine till system Brown till, meltout till subsystem Red sedimentary till, fragipan subsystem Deep fill, artifact subsystem Pavement system, brown till subsystem… Landscape block diagram, Brown meltout till Soil Shops- NY, NJ & PA soil lead screening The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), NY Department of Health Brooklyn College Cornell Cooperative Extension Rutgers University USDA-NRCS How Healthy is your soil? 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