Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______TITLE 5 SOIL EVALUATOR ______CERTIFICATION TRAINING ______Climate Organisms ______SOIL PARENT Relief Time MATERIAL ______The geologic sediments that the soils formed in ______Prepared for: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection By S.B. Mabee, PhD, PG, Massachusetts Geological Survey University of Massachusetts Amherst Presented by: New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission

______

Page 1, form 11

______

Page 2, form 11 What is parent material? What landform? Read Topo map/read the landscape Understanding geology helps.

Geologic Deposits, page 1

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Drumlin Landform ______SU SH Summit SH ______Shoulder BS Kame Landform Back slope ______

SU FS Glacial Till SH Foot slope ______Sand & BS Gravel ______TS FS Toe slope

______

______The Parent Material ______1. What are the different types of surficial deposits ______2. What types of landforms these surficial deposits are associated with and why ______3. How to recognize these landforms on topographic maps ______4. How are these deposits are represented on geologic maps ______5. What are their characteristics and relevance to septic systems ______

Geologic Deposits, page 2

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Wisconsin Glaciation (Laurentide Ice Sheet) ______

Max. extent ______22,000 to 28,000 years ago ______

About 1 mile thick over MA ______Glaciation shaped ______our landscape

And dictate which soils ______are suitable for septic systems and which are not

New England soils do not form from weathering of bedrock ______Types of ______Glacial Till Deposits ______Outwash Plain ______Clay Topset Beds ______Sand & Gravel

Delta

Wide variety, variable thick., wide range properties

______The Main Groups of Soil Parent Materials ______• Glacial Till • Windblown (Loess) ______• Shallow Bedrock • Organic Matter ______

• Glacial Outwash • Alluvial (Floodplain) ______• Lacustrine (Lakebed) • Coastal Deposits Deposits ______• Fill Material • Marine Silts and Clays (Human Transported Material)

Geologic Deposits, page 3

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Glacial Till ______

Dominantly unsorted and unstratified debris, ______deposited directly by the glacier, and consisting ______of a heterogeneous mixture of all the particle sizes – clay, silt, sand, gravel, cobbles and boulders ______

______Two Types of Glacial Till ______Lodgement or Basal Till ______Compact, dense deposited at the base of an actively flowing (moving) glacier ______Ablation Till ______Loose, sandier till deposited by the melting (wasting) glacier ______

______

>50% sand, 25-35% silt, <17% (8%) Ubiquitous <10 ft thick to a max. of 230 feet

Geologic Deposits, page 4

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______

______

Geologic Deposits, page 5

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Characteristics of Lodgement Till ______

• Heterogeneous mixture of all particles sizes – ______clay to boulder size ______• Unsorted, not stratified ______• Angular shaped rock fragments ______• Firm and compact ______• Clay content relatively high (5 – 25%)

• Rock fragments are held firmly in place

______Characteristics of Lodgement Till (con’t) ______• Typically occurs 2.5 to 3 feet below ground surface ______• Locally referred to as “hardpan” ______• Often has a perched water table during wet seasons and following periods of heavy precipitation ______

______

Oxidized upper zone Grey lower zone Dry enough for oxidized hor.

Geologic Deposits, page 6

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Characteristics of Ablation Till ______• Dominantly loose sandy to gravelly material ______• Typically extremely variable with pockets and ______discontinuous strata of different material ______• Unstratified to coarsely stratified ______• Very little clay (2 – 10%) ______• Often has a high percentage of angular cobbles and boulders

______Removal it looks like sand

Wet it and it remains dirty ______

______Variety of tills and their color depends on the bedrock mineralogy from which they were derived ______Light Gray Till Granites and/or Gneiss

Dark Till Rocks w/Dark Mineralogy ______Red Till Mesozoic/Triassic Age ______Rocks ______

Geologic Deposits, page 7

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Lodgement ______Tills ______

More cohesive and make vertical exposures

______Ablation Tills ______Less cohesive, don’t stand up as well

______Glacial Till Landforms ______Moraines – ridge perpendicular to the direction of ice flow marking the position where the terminus of the ice ______stood for a period of time ______Drumlin – oval shaped hill (inverted spoon), long axis parallel to the direction of ice flow ______

Till Ridge – a ridge of till parallel to the direction of ice ______flow ______Ground Moraine – an area of glacial till without any characteristic shape

Geologic Deposits, page 8

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Till Landforms ______

Moraines at snout of ice Lodgement till at base of ice Drumlins and till ridges under the ice Ablation till material laid down by melting

Sandwich and Buzzard Bay Moraines ______

______

Geologic Deposits, page 9

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Types of Moraines ______

Terminal Moraine Recessional Moraine

______

______

Geologic Deposits, page 10

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______

______Moraine ______

Higher elev., tight closed contours, hummocky

Geologic Deposits, page 11

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

Drumlins

______

Drumlins

______

Geologic Deposits, page 12

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

Drumlin ______Drumlin ______

______Till Ridge ______

Ground Moraine

______Drumlin Till ______Ground Moraine ______

Geologic Deposits, page 13

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Glacial Till Summary • Generally a variable thickness veneer of till everywhere ______except where bedrock (ledge) is exposed with variable percolation rate ______

• Lodgement till can form a restrictive layer and ______produce a perched water table ______Know when you are in Till ______

• Can have highly variable perc rates from impervious to Fairly fast perc rates

______

CATENA

Drumlin – but position on landform matters

______PAXTON

 Summit position ______ Typically well drained ______ Good oxidized zone– 10YR 5/6 or 5/8 ______ Redox features if present not well ______defined, may be absent in the upper portion ______depending on landscape position

Geologic Deposits, page 14

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______WOODBRIDGE ______ Typically midslope  Moderately well ______drained  Bw present, colors are ______more reduced; not as “bright” – often a 4/4 ______not a 5/6 or 5/8  Obvious redox features ______

______RIDGEBURY/WHITMAN ______ Toe slope ______ No B Horizon,  Poorly drained to very ______poorly drained,  Obvious redox ______features, ______

______Shallow to Bedrock Areas ______Shallow to bedrock areas are associated with ______irregular terrain, steep ridges and abrupt knobs ______Some areas are nearly level to gently rolling with few outcrops of ledge. ______Depth to bedrock can vary over short distances with variable complex conditions producing ______pockets of deep soil and areas of shallow to bedrock soils within short distances

Geologic Deposits, page 15

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

From Peter Fletcher, 2008

______

Jagged contours, not smooth, higher terrain

______

Geologic Deposits, page 16

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Condition of Shallow Bedrock ______• Weathered or fractured bedrock can often be ______excavated easily but is not considered suitable material for a leaching facility ______• Weathered or fractured rock may be rippable with ______excavation equipment ______• Described as Cr ______• Hard, indurated rocks are not suitable for leaching described as R

______Shallow to Bedrock Soils ______Very hard, not rippable

R layer

Unsuitable

______

Fractured and weathered – Cr Layer - Unsuitable

Geologic Deposits, page 17

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Shallow to bedrock pits ______

Refusal at 70 cm

______

http://geo.msu.edu/extra/soilprofiles/Inceptisols.htm

______Glacial Outwash ______

Outwash ______Plain

Meltwater, meltwater, meltwater

Geologic Deposits, page 18

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Glacial Outwash ______Stratified deposits of sands and gravels deposited by melt-water streams that ______flowed from melting glaciers ______

Layered ______

Devoid of Clay ______

Rounded ______

______

Higher velocity------Larger particle size

______High Velocity- large particles Farther downstream ______more rounded ______Outwash ______Outwash – Rounded and layered

Till – Angular, not layered

Geologic Deposits, page 19

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Two Groupings of Glacial Outwash ______Proglacial Outwash ______Stratified outwash deposited in front of or just beyond the outer limits of the glacier ______

Ice Contact Outwash ______

Stratified outwash originally deposited in direct ______contact with glacial ice or on top of stagnant glacial ice, often collapsed ______

______Proglacial Outwash ______• Stratified, well sorted material ______• Clean sands and gravel, typically very ______little silt and clay ______• Gravel and cobbles, if present, are rounded or subrounded ______• Loose material, pit walls often slough

• Generally lacks large cobbles and boulders

______Proglacial Outwash ______• Most often occurs as broad, nearly level, outwash plains ______• Particle size dependent on original source material and the velocity of the stream ______and may range from cobbles to fine sand ______

Geologic Deposits, page 20

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Landforms Associated with Proglacial Outwash ______

Outwash Plain

______Landforms Associated with Proglacial Outwash ______Valley Train Deposit ______

______

Outwash Plains function of Ice Margin Position

Strahler, 1966

Geologic Deposits, page 21

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Formation of a ______Pitted Outwash Plain ______Flat Surface with Pits – think outwash Fast perc rate ______

Kame and Kettle terrain

Strahler, 1966

______

______

Proglacial outwash soil pits ______

Geologic Deposits, page 22

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Ice-Contact Outwash ______• Extremely variable material, often pockets and ______discontinuous lenses of silts and clays, and pockets of cobbles and possible boulders ______• Irregular topography, uneven terrain ______• Typically gravelly sand ______• Slumped or collapsed stratification (bedding) ______

______Landforms Associated with Ice-Contact Deposits ______• Ice Channel Fillings (Eskers) – sand and gravel deposited in a stream channel within the ice ______• Kame Terraces – sand and gravel deposited ______between the valley walls and ice ______• Kame Plains – an isolated flat terrace of sand and gravel deposited between two large ice blocks ______• Kame Delta – sand, gravel and fine sands laid down ______in a proglacial lake in contact with ice

• Kame – any other deposit laid down next to ice

______

Geologic Deposits, page 23

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Ice Channel Deposits ______

Ice channel deposits ______Think sand and gravel Think high perc rate

______

______

Esker ______

Geologic Deposits, page 24

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Multiple Kame ______Terraces ______

______Kame Terraces ______

______

Geologic Deposits, page 25

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______

______Soil in Outwash ______

Rounded, looser, easy to ______dig cobbles out of face of pit ______Ablation till is firmer, compact and dirtier (more silt content) ______

Geologic Deposits, page 26

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Kame Plain ______

______

Two things: 1) deltas form (coarse debris) and 2) fines deposited in lake

______

Proglacial Lakes

Geologic Deposits, page 27

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______

Not all Deltas form in direct contact with the ice ______

Deposits vary horizontally and vertically

Geologic Deposits, page 28

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______

Topo = distribution of PM and expected perc

______

Geologic Deposits, page 29

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

 Coarse layers ______deposited by fast water  Fine layers either by ______slow water or in standing water ______

______Lacustrine Sediments ______(Lakebed Silts and Clays) ______

Silts and clays deposited (varved) at the ______bottom of a glacial lake which has since drained ______

______Small proglacial lake dammed by moraine ______

Lake Hitchcock was a large proglacial lake

Geologic Deposits, page 30

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Characteristics of Lacustrine Deposits ______• Well sorted, mostly silts and clays ______• Generally high percentage of clay (≥30%) ______• Few if any rock fragments of gravel size or larger ______• How can you get rocks in a lacustrine deposit

______

Lacustrine ______Sediments ______

______Examples of soils in lacustrine and marine clays to show the range of characteristics and textures that ______can be found in these environments

Geologic Deposits, page 31

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______Marine Silts and Clays ______Fine sediments deposited within a marine environment and since uplifted (isostatic ______rebound) above present day sea level ______

______

Wolcott, 1970

Geologic Deposits, page 32

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

Marine Silts and Clays ______In New England ______Only in Boston area and north close ______to coast

Typically well sorted ______high in silts and clays ______Locally called the Boston Blue Clay

Modified from Jorgensen, 1971

______

______POST GLACIAL ______Windblown Deposits (Eolian Deposits) ______• Windblown fine sands and silts ______• Deposited as glacier wasted northward ______• Active before landscape was vegetated ______• Occurs as mantle (layer) of fine sand and silts ______overlying other glacial material

Geologic Deposits, page 33

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______Eolian ______

______

Examples of eolian soil pits ______

Geologic Deposits, page 34

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Organic Deposits ______Bog, swamp and marsh deposits of ______partially and well decomposed organic matter ______

______

Often associated with shallow water tables

______Characteristics of Organic Soils ______

• Weak Strength, spongy sensation under foot ______

• Very dark color ______• Little to no mineral matter, smooth creamy feel and no grittiness ______

• Formed in areas of seasonal high water table ______at or near the land surface

Geologic Deposits, page 35

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______Coastal Deposits Dunes ______A natural hill, mound or ridge landward of a ______coastal beach, often parallel to the shoreline ______Deposited by wind ______Well sorted, often finely stratified ______Little or no silt and clay, no gravel or coarser rock fragments ______

Often have unvegetated areas of loose sand

______Beach ______At interface between water and land ______Usually eroded from other material and ______reworked by wave action ______Dominantly fine to coarse sand; can contain gravel and cobbles depending on source material ______Often stratified ______Little or no silt or clay

Geologic Deposits, page 36

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Alluvial Deposits (Floodplain and Terraces) ______Sediments deposited by present day streams and rivers ______

Typically occur as nearly level terraces ______adjacent to the stream banks ______Terraces often built by reworking previously ______deposited glacial outwash deposits (kame terraces, outwash, valley train deposits)

______Terrace ______

Terrace ______

______Floodplain ______Susceptible to seasonal flooding ______Nearly level areas adjacent to large streams and rivers ______

Well sorted, often stratified ______

Variable grain size depending on velocity of ______water that deposited the sediment ______May have dark buried soils in substratum that were at one time surface layers

Geologic Deposits, page 37

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Consequences of living in a floodplain

______A C ______B ______

Plummer 1991

______

Geologic Deposits, page 38

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______

______

Never depend on one source of data

______

Geologic Deposits, page 39

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Human Transported Material ______Also called Fill Material, Artificial Fill, Anthropogenic Soil ______

Intentionally moved by aid of heavy equipment ______and placed in a different area ______Can be clean fill for construction or construction ______rubble, hazardous waste, landfill or anything

______

______

HTM Soil ______

Geologic Deposits, page 40

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

Summary ______Till ______Heterogeneous mixture of particles ranging from clay size up to boulders; unsorted, unstratified; generally found in higher ______elevation terrain away from stream and river valleys Lodgement Till ______• Compact till, higher clay content, forms under the ice ______• Found in core of drumlins, ground moraine • Low perc rate to possibly impervious • Forms hardpan 2-3 feet below ground ______Ablation Till ______• Looser and sandier till that forms from meltout of material entrained or on top of the glacier • Found anywhere • Slow to fast perc rate depending on sand content

______Till Landforms Drumlins, Ground Moraines, Till Ridges and Moraine ______Glacial Outwash ______• Well sorted, stratified deposits of fine to medium sand, gravel and cobbles ______• Size distribution depends on water velocity and proximity glacial ice margin ______• Generally forms in lower topographic areas and major valleys • Moderate to fast perc rates ______Glacial Outwash Landforms ______Outwash plain, valley train deposits, kame plain, kame terrace kame delta, kame, ice channel deposits

______Lacustrine and Marine Silts and Clays Lacustrine ______• Formed in proglacial lakes where quiet water allows for ______deposition of suspended silt and clay particles • Often forms varves (alternating summer and winter layers) • Can be found in any of the numerous glacial lakes in MA ______• Often covered by veneer of other glacial or post glacial material (outwash or terrace deposits) ______• Very slow perc rates to impervious material Marine Silts and Clays ______• Forms in the marine incursion after the glacial period when sea level was rising and before isostatic rebound ______• Only occurs in Boston area and north shore of MA • Known as Boston blue clay • Often covered by veneer of other glacial or post glacial material (outwash or terrace deposits) • Very slow perc rates to impervious material

Geologic Deposits, page 41

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Windblown Deposits (Eolian) ______• Very well sorted, very fine to medium sand deposited by wind ______• In glacial times, formed just after ice retreat before substantial vegetation stabilized the soil ______• Can occur in thick dune deposits in interior Massachusetts especially proximal to former glacial lakes after draining ______

• Can also occur as a mantle of sediment in any soil depending ______on location ______• Moderate to fast perc rate

______Organic Deposits • Thick deposits of partially to well decomposed organic ______matter • May occur in a bog, swamp or marsh ______• Generally considered a wetland and unbuildable Coastal Dunes and Beaches ______• Dune – well sorted fine to medium sand deposited by wind into a ridges often parallel to shore; moderate to fast perc ______

• Beach – at interface between water and land ______usually eroded from other material and reworked by waves ______fine to coarse sand, can contain gravel and cobbles little to no silt or clay fast perc rate

______Alluvial Material (Floodplains and Terraces) • Sediments deposited by present day streams and rivers ______• Can have variable particle sizes depending stream velocity ______• Almost always occurs in river valleys ______• Can be reworked glacial outwash

• Typically occurs as nearly level terraces adjacent to stream banks ______

• Floodplain is the lowest terrace above the stream bank that ______is often associated with the 100 year floodplain and is the surface most frequently inundated ______• Variable perc rate depending on particle size of alluvial material

Geologic Deposits, page 42

Soil Evaluator Course, Day 3, Presentation 3 – 9/17/2019

______Human Transported Material (Fill Material) ______• Material intentionally moved by aid of heavy equipment ______• Can be for construction or from disposal of material ______• Can range in grain size and quality of material depending on use and purpose ______• Variable perc rate depending on material but is considered ______unsuitable ______

______

Topography Exercise ______

Shirley Quadrangle ______1. What two distinct topo features stand out? ______2. What are flat topped features at 400 to 420 feet elevation ______at south end of map?

3. Do you see evidence of ice ______channel systems? Where?

4. Is there till on this map? Where?

______

1. What is the Montague plain? 2. Why is the Fish Hatchery located where it is? 3. Where do you think shallow bedrock might be located? 4. How many terraces are there and what are they made of?

Greenfield Quadrangle

Geologic Deposits, page 43