SOIL PHYSICS AND MINERAL EXPLORATION

Soil is
Soil is the upper most layer of earth crust, and it supports all terrestrial life. It is the interface between
the lithosphere and the atmosphere, and strongly interacts with biosphere and the hydrosphere.
composed of both rock particles and organic matter (humus) - the remains of plants and animals
in various stages of decomposition. The humus serves as food for many living organisms. Within
the soil is a large population of animals, plants. Soil physics is the study of the solid, liquid and
gaseous phases of soils, and their interactions. Soil texture, structure and bulk density reflect how
soil mineral and organic particles combine to form the soil matrix and pore spaces. Pore spaces
hold gases and water. Soil is a complex three-phase system, comprised of: solids (soil mineral
particles and organic matter), liquids (the soil solution: water, dissolved nutrients, chemicals, and
gases), and gases (e.g., N2, O2, CO2). The liquid phase of a soil system consists of soil water and
various nutrients, chemicals, and gases dissolved in soil water (sometimes referred to as soil
solutes), forming a soil solution. Both the amount of water in soil (water quantity) and the
chemical composition (water quality) contribute to the liquid phase of a soil system. The gaseous
phase of a soil system consists of soil air, which is a mixture of gases commonly including
nitrogen (N2), oxygen (O2), water vapour and carbon dioxide (CO2). Generally, the pore spaces
that are not occupied by the liquid phase (i.e., soil water), will be occupied by the gaseous phase
(i.e., soil air). The amount, composition and mobility of gaseous vary with time and position in
the soil profile. The solid phase of a soil system can be comprised of soil particles that are either
mineral (i.e., rocks, stones, cobbles, gravel, sand, silt, clay) or organic (i.e., soil organic matter)
in nature.( S.W. Duiker and D.D. Fritton). Soil physics has been applied in studies of soil erosion (water
flow), organic matter management, compaction, irrigation, drainage, and crop water use, agriculture.

Soil physics in :
 Soil erosion
 Irrigation
 Drainage
 crop water use
 agriculture
 compaction
 Principle of soil physics pages 22
Mineral physics:
 Definition of mineral
 Mineral exploration
 Mineral exploration physics

A mineral is a naturally occurring inorganic element or compound having an orderly
internal structure and characteristic chemical composition, crystal form, and physical
properties. Common minerals include quartz, feldspar, mica, amphibole, olivine, and calcite.
an inorganic substance (as in the ash of calcined tissue) 3 obsolete : mine. 4 : something
neither animal nor vegetable.
Mineral exploration is the process of searching for evidence of any mineralisation hosted
in the surrounding rocks. The general principle works by extracting pieces of geological
information from several places, and extrapolating this over the larger area to develop a
geological picture.