INTRO TO SOIL & HYDROGEOLOGY

EHSH 113

C H E A H W A I YA N
LECTURER
D E PA RT M E N T O F E N V I R O N M E N TA L H E A LT H
FA C U LT Y O F H E A LT H A N D S P O RT S C I E N C E S
MAHSA UNIVERSITY
 SOIL PROFILE & FORMATION

• Sub- topics:

• Major factors of soil formation

• Weathering processes
• Transportation & depositions
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the session, the students should be

able to:

• Describe the factors required for soil formation

• Discuss the soil formation process
 SOIL FORMATION

There are five (5) factors that affect the soil formation

• Parent material
• Climate
• Plant and organism
• Topography
• Time
 1. PARENT MATERIAL

• The primary material from which the soil is formed.

• Soil parent material could be bedrock, organic

material, an old soil surface, or a deposit from its
mode of transportation like water, wind, glaciers,
volcanoes, or material moving down a slope.
 2. CLIMATE

• Climate, particularly temperature, precipitation and

wind action influence soil forming processes.
 3. TOPOGRAPHY

• The shape of the land surface, its slope and position

on the landscape, greatly influence the kinds of soils
formed

i. Effect on soil erosion

ii. Effect on deposition & soil texture
iii. Microclimatic effects
Hill slope position, runoff & erosion
Location, Deposition and Soil Texture
The right hand slope (above) is facing the sun, keeping it free of
snow for longer.
DISCUSSIONS ON SOIL PROFILE
 4. PLANT & ORGANISMS

• Their major influence is the effect on the chemical

and physical environment of the soils.

• bacteria, fungi, vegetation and animals

 PROCESS OF SOIL FORMATION

• 3 processes of soil formation

i. Weathering

ii. Transporting (Deposition)

iii. Organic formation/accumulation

 I. WEATHERING

• is the breakdown and alteration of rocks and minerals at

or near the Earth's surface into products that are more in
equilibrium with the conditions found in this environment.

• The process of weathering can result in the following

three outcomes on rocks and minerals:

• The complete loss of particular atoms or compounds

from the weathered surface.

• The addition of specific atoms or compounds to the

weathered surface.

• A breakdown of one mass into two or more masses, with

no chemical change in the mineral or rock.
 I. TYPES OF WEATHERING

• 3 mechanisms of weathering

a. Physical

b. Chemical

c. Biological
 IA. PHYSICAL WEATHERING

• Is the breakdown (strain and rupture) of mineral or rock

material by entirely mechanical methods brought about
by a variety of causes.

• Some of the forces originate within the rock or mineral

(compaction)

• The processes that may cause mechanical rupture are

i. abrasion,
ii. crystallization,
iii. thermal insulation,
iv. wetting and drying
v. frost –thaw
vi. Pressure release
Physical definition Mechanical mechanism effect
weathering agent
processes
Abrasion Breakdown of rock when the Water High winds can lift grains Granular
two rock grinding each other and might hit over the disintegration
on their surfaces. wind course of a single occur
sandstorm. After a
thousand sandstorms
those hits add up. Signs of
wind abrasion include a
fine polish, fluting (grooves
and striations), and
flattened faces that may
intersect in sharp but not
jagged edges.
Crystallization Breakdown of rock because of Mineral As water evaporates Rock breaking
volumetric change when liquid moisture from rocks
has transformed to solid temperature located in arid climates.
crystalline. Mineral salts develop from
mineral crystals.

The crystals grow,

spreading apart mineral
grains in the process, and
eventually break apart
rocks.
Physical definition
weathering
processes
Thermal insulation Breakdown of rock by expansion and
contraction due to diurnal temperature
changes
Wetting & drying Breakdown of rock due to the
accumulation of successive layers of
water molecules in between the mineral
grains of a rock
Frost-thaw Repeated cycles of freezing and thawing
of water in rock fractures
Pressure release Rock breaks apart in layers that are
parallel to the earth's surface; as rock is
uncovered, it expands (due to the lower
confining pressure) resulting in exfoliation
Mechanical agent mechanism effect
Temperature In deserts, surface materials get Rock breaking
exceedingly hot during the day
and be exposed to cold
temperatures at night.
The expansion upon heating
and contraction during cooling
weakens rock breaking it apart.
Water Accumulation of water in rock Rock breaking
causes material to expand and
Temperature contract, thus weakening rocks
and inducing them to break.
Ice Water freezes in rock fractures. Rock breaking
As the water freezes it expands
putting pressure on the sides of
the crack, enlarging it until the
rock breaks apart
Rock The overlying rocks cause Peeling off of leaf
stress to the rock under it. With like layer
the release of pressure caused
by erosion, the rock at the
bottom expands. Cracks are
formed parallel to the rock
surface. Over a period of time,
the outer layers of the rock
break away in sheet.
ABRASION
CRYSTALISATION
THERMAL INSOLATION
FREEZE THAWING
EXFOLIATION
 IB. CHEMICAL WEATHERING

• Chemical weathering involves the alteration of the

chemical and mineralogical composition of the
weathered material.

• Process by which the internal structure of a mineral

is altered by the addition or removal of elements.

• Change in phase (mineral type) and composition

are due to the action of chemical agents.
 IB. CHEMICAL WEATHERING

• The most common chemical weathering

processes are:

i. hydrolysis,
ii. oxidation,
iii. hydration,
iv. carbonation
Chemical definition mechanism reaction effect
weathering
processes

Hydrolysis Occurs when water (H20), usually
in the form of precipitation, disrupts
the chemical composition and size
of a mineral and creates less stable
minerals, thus less stable rocks,
that weather more readily.
• involves the reaction between mineral Mg2SiO4 + 4H+ + 4OH- ---> Weakened the rock
ions and the ions of water (OH- and 2Mg2+ + 4OH - + H4SiO4
H+),
• When water splits into hydrogen and
hydroxide, one or both components
participate directly in the chemical
process

Oxidation Occurs when oxygen combines
with compound elements in rocks
to form oxides.
• involve the reaction that occurs 4Fe + 3O2 = 2Fe2O3 the formation of the rusty
between compounds and soil oxygen brown and red oxides of
dissolved in water Ferum + oxygen  ferum oxide iron on the surface of iron-
containing rocks.
• When an object is chemically altered in
this manner it is weakened and
appears as "oxidized”

Hydration Water (H20) combines with
compounds in rocks, causing a
chemical change in a mineral's
structure, but more likely will
physically alter a mineral's grain
surface and edges
• involves the rigid attachment of H+ and
OH- ions to a reacted compound in rock
• Process where minerals in the rock
absorb water and expand, creating
stress which causes the disintegration
of rocks.
• Anhydrite chemically changes to Rock weakened, cracking,
Gypsum (CaSO4-2H20) when granular disintegration
water is added. Gypsum is used in occur
the construction industry, to build
buildings and houses.
• Unhydrated Calcium sulphate +
Water --> Hydrated Calcium
Sulphate (expands)

Carbonation Occur when mineral react with
& solution carbonic acid, which forms when
carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere dissolves in rain water:
• This weathering process occurs when CaCO3 + H2CO3 -----> Sinkhole
precipitation (H20) combines with Ca2+ + 2HCO 3-
carbon dioxide (CO2) to form carbonic (Calcite mineral + carbonic acid  Karst topography
acid (H2CO3). dissolved calcium + dissolved
bicarbonate ions)
• When carbonic acid comes in contact
with rocks that contain lime, soda, and
potash, the minerals calcium,
magenesium and potassium in these
rocks chemically change into
carbonates and dissolve in rain water.
CARBONATION & SOLUTION
CARBONATION & SOLUTION
KARST TOPOGRAPHY
KARST TOPOGRAPHY
 IC. BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING

• Biological weathering involves the disintegration of

rock and mineral by biological agent and can be
due to the chemical and/or physical agents of an
organism.

• The types of organisms that can cause weathering

range from bacteria to plants to animals.
 IC. BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING

• Some of the more important processes are:

1. Simple breaking of particles

2. Movement and mixing of materials

3. The complex chemical effects that occur as a result of

chelation (mobilization of metals in soil resulting metals
uptake into plants & microorganisms)

4. Plants can influence the pH of the soil solution.

i. Respiration.
ii. Cation exchange reactions
 IC. BIOLOGICAL WEATHERING

• Tree roots are

probably the most
significant agents of
biological
weathering.
 II. TRANSPORTING

• Parent material arrives on location through various

routes and mechanisms.

• The parent material in a landscape may have been

transported to the location.

• Residual soils formed in place from weathering of

the underlying bedrock.
 TRANSPORTING & DEPOSIT – WATER
(RIVER)
• Rivers are an important feature of most landscapes, acting as
the principal mechanism for the transport of weathered debris
away from upland areas and carrying it to lakes and seas,
where much of the sediment is deposited.

• River deposits are called alluvium or alluvial.

• Examples of alluvial soils are:

flood plains

alluvial fans

Lacustrine deposits / oxbow lake

marine deposits / delta

FLOODPLAINS
 FLOODPLAINS

• Floodplain is a wide and flat valley

1. Floodplain form when river overflows its banks during flooding and
spread large amount of sediment over the banks

2. When flood subsides or over, there is a decrease in volume in

water and rivers start to deposit its load.
- small stones, sand & silt deposited in a zone adjacent to the
river channel
- lighter particles such as clay deposited far from the river
channel

3. Repeated flooding result in materials deposited on the riverbanks

forming a floodplain
- Provides fertile alluvium for farming
ALLUVIAL FAN
 ALLUVIAL FAN FORMATION

• Alluvial fan is a fan shaped similar to delta but deposited on

land.

• The processes of deposition on an alluvial fan will be

determined by the availability of water, the amount and type
of sediment being carried from the feeder canyon, and the
gradient on the fan surface.

• formation :
1.Sediments comes from a stream of a steep mountain course
and enters a flatter plain with a low gradient

2.Sudden change of gradient  river lose energy  river starts

to deposit its load.

3.The heavier (coarser) the material will be deposited first then

the finer materials .
ALLUVIAL FAN
DELTA
DELTA
 DELTA FORMATION

1. Areas of sediment deposited at the mouth of river

2. Fast moving water enters a slowing moving body such

as sea or lake

3. Discharge and resulting in deposition of even very fine

material

4. Flocculation occurs when salt water meets fresh water –

tiny particles in suspension like clay and silt coagulate
with the salt in the water by chemical reaction and
become heavy enough to ‘sink’ and be deposited
OXBOW LAKE
 OXBOW LAKE FORMATION
• A river meander flow through an area of flat terrain

• Water flow at the different speeds as it goes around bends in

a meander

• On outside bank, the river moves the fastest.

• On the inside bank of the corner in the river, the water flow
more slowly leading to sediment settling out of the water and
building up

• Gradually the inside bank are filled in with accumulated

deposits and the outside bends extend further and further
forming a wide loop

• The loop continues to bend further and further, until a thin strip
of land called a neck is created at the beginning and the end
of the meanders
 OXBOW LAKE FORMATION

• Eventually, the narrow neck is cut through by either

gradual erosion or during a time of flooding. When this
happens, a new straighter channel is created, diverting
the flow of the river from the loop into the new channel.

• Deposition finally seals the cut-off from the river channel,

leaving a horseshoe-shaped oxbow lake.

• The water in the oxbow lake is no longer refreshed by the

river, transforming the habitat from one supporting river
life to one that is hospitable to pond life.
OXBOW LAKE
 II. TRANSPORTING & DEPOSIT - WIND

• ii. Wind deposits are called aeolian materials.

• Only small particles are readily carried by wind. Eg: Silts

and fine sands

• Wild-blown silt deposits are important in agriculture for

the ease with which they are cultivated.

• Example of aeolian deposit:

• Loess
• Dunes
 LOESS

• Formed by accumulation of windblown silt and clay

deposits far from their source
• Soils on loess deposits are some of the most fertile in
the world
LOESS
 DUNE

• Dunes occur in several distinctive types, consist of

sand, and are deposited near their source

• Types of dunes :
• Barchan dunes
• Transverse dunes
• Star dunes
• longitudinal dunes
SAND MOVEMENT
TRANSVERSE DUNE
STAR DUNES
BARCHAN DUNES
LONGITUDINAL DUNES
 II. TRANSPORTING & DEPOSIT – ICE
(GLACIER)
iii. Glaciers have profoundly affected the landscape.

• These deposits from moving sheets of ice are called

glacial materials or glacial till.

• Ice itself is a poor sorter of soil particles. The force

carrying particles is able to carry particles of all sizes the
same distance. Thus this parent material contains
everything from the smallest clay-sized fraction to rocks
and pebbles.

• Glaciers leave landforms such as: lateral moraines,

terminal moraines, ground moraines, and outwash
plains.
 TYPES OF MORAINES

Lateral Moraines:
•Lateral moraines form along each side of a valley glacier.

•It is a ridge of glacial load by the side of a glacier or lying

along the side of a valley which was formerly occupied by
a glacier.

Terminal Moraines:
•End moraines that mark the farthest advance of the
glacier's snout are called terminal moraines.

•When the snout remains stationary for a long period of

several years, an actuate ridge comprising glacial debris is
built up.
 TYPES OF MORAINES

Ground Moraines:
•If the lower part of a glacier is heavily charged with
debris which it cannot transport, the excess load is
deposited as ground moraine.

• It consists of an irregular sheet of glacial drift over the

valley floor
TYPES OF MORAINES
TYPES OF MORAINES
 II. TRANSPORTING & DEPOSIT –
GRAVITY
iv. Gravity deposits are colluvial material or colluvium.

• Such material results from

• mass-wasting
• mud flows
• gradual movement of individual particles down a slope.

• These deposits are found on a relatively small-scale such

as mountain valleys, and are usually coarse materials

• Gravity is a poor sorter of particles, and thus soils which

develop at the base of mountains, for example, contain
particles from clays through rocks, pebbles, and
boulders.
II. TRANSPORTING – GRAVITY

Colluvium at the mountain’s base

THANK YOU !!