2.

The Role of Soils

https://www.soils4teachers.org/weathering

There are seven general

roles that soils play:

Grass roots live in the soil, and help it clump together.

 Soils serve as media for growth of all kinds of plants.

 Soils modify the atmosphere by emitting and absorbing gases (carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor,
and the like) and dust.
 This is a closeup of the bacterial life that can grow on a plant root, called a biofilm.
 Soils provide habitat for animals that live in the soil (such as groundhogs and mice) to organisms(such
as bacteria and fungi), that account for most of the living things on Earth.

 Soils absorb, hold, release, alter, and purify most of the water in terrestrial systems.

 Soils process recycled nutrients, including carbon, so that living things can use them over and over
again.

Archaeologists need to understand the soil so they know

the likely places for human life. They also literally dig up the past.
 Soils serve as engineering media for construction of foundations, roadbeds, dams and buildings, and
preserve or destroy artifacts of human endeavors.

 Soils act as a living filter to clean water before it moves into an aquifer.

2. Physical Properties
of Soil (REFER TO
SEPARATE FILE)
2.1 Soil Texture
The particles that make up soil are categorized
into three groups by size – sand, silt, and clay.
Sand particles are the largest and clay particles
the smallest. Most soils are a combination of the
three. The relative percentages of sand, silt, and
clay are what give soil its texture. A clay loam
texture soil, for example, has nearly equal parts
of sand, slit, and clay. These textural separates
result from the weathering process.
This is an image comparing the sizes of sand, silt, and clay together. Sand is the largest. Clay is the smallest.

There are 12 soil textural classes represented

on the soil texture triangle. This triangle is used
so that terms like “clay” or “loam” always have
the same meaning. Each texture corresponds to
specific percentages of sand, silt, or clay.
Knowing the texture helps us manage the soil.
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks and minerals
into soils. Rocks are broken into three major groups:
sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. The rock
cycle illustrates how these different types of rocks
form. An animated version of the rock cycle can be
found at the British Geological Society website.
This is an image of the process of rocks becoming sediment and soil.

Different Types of
Weathering
The University of Kentucky website has some
amazing animations of physical and chemical
weathering surfaces common in the different regions,
from warm and wet to dry.

Physical Weathering
Physical weathering is the breaking of rocks into
smaller pieces. This can happen through exfoliation,
freeze-thaw cycles, abrasion, root expansion, and wet-
dry cycles.

Exfoliation at Yosemite National Park.C.E. Watkins. Yosemite Views. Image 435041. New York Public Library

Exfoliation: When temperature of rocks rapidly

changes that can expand or crack rocks. This
especially happens with granitic rocks as they were
cooling, like at Yosemite National Park.

Freeze-thaw: When water freezes, it expands. If

moisture seeps into cracks before winter, it can then
freeze, driving the rocks apart.

Abrasion: When the wind blows, it can pick up sand

and silt, and literally sandblast rocks into pieces.

Root Expansion: Like freeze thaw, roots grow bigger

every year. These roots can drive the roots apart.

Chemical Weathering
Chemicals react in the environment all the time, and
these cause chemical weathering. Major chemical
reactions include carbonation, dissolution, hydration,
hydrolysis, and oxidation-reduction reaction. All of
these reactions have water involved with them.

Example of Limestone Dissolution in the Cathedral Room at Florida Caverns State Park. Credit: State
Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, Mark Ludlow.

Carbonation: When water reacts with carbon dioxide,

it creates carbonic acid, which can dissolve softer
rocks.

Dissolution: Limestone and rocks high in salt dissolve

when exposed to water. The water carries away the
ions.

Hydrolysis: Minerals in the rock react with water and

surrounding acids. The hydrogen atoms replace other
cations. Feldspar hydrate to clay.
Oxidation-Reduction: Water and rock particles react
with oxygen. This causes the minerals and materials
to rust and turn red.

If the area is hot and humid, chemical weathering is

more prevalent. If it is drier, physical weathering is
more predominant.

Related Link
Geology Kitchen: Weathering YouTube video with
Devin Denny that shows hands on activities and
demonstrations that can be done with weathering.

https://youtu.be/guYOWnoaG7c

Soil Structure
Soil structure is the arrangement of soil
particles into small clumps, called peds or
aggregates. Soil particles (sand, silt, clay and
even organic matter) bind together to form peds.
Depending on the composition and on the
conditions in which the peds formed (getting
wet and drying out, or freezing and thawing, foot
traffic, farming, etc.), the ped has a specific
shape. They could be granular (like gardening
soil), blocky, columnar, platy, massive (like
modeling clay) or single-grained (like beach
sand). Structure correlates to the pore space in
the soil which influences root growth and air
and water movement.

Read more and download our Soil

Texture information sheet.

Soil Color

The color of soil is measured by its hue (actual color), value (how light and dark it is), and chroma (intensity).

Soil color is influenced primarily by soil

mineralogy – telling us what is in a specific soil.
Soils high in iron are deep orange-brown to
yellowish-brown. Those soils that are high in
organic matter are dark brown or black. Color
can also tell us how a soil “behaves” – a soil
that drains well is brightly colored and one that
is often wet and soggy will have a mottled
pattern of grays, reds, and yellows. Read more
about soil color!

2.1.1 Where does soil

come from?
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks and minerals
into soils. Rocks are broken into three major groups:
sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic. The rock
cycle illustrates how these different types of rocks
form. An animated version of the rock cycle can be
found at the British Geological Society website.
This is an image of the process of rocks becoming sediment and soil.

Different Types of
Weathering
The University of Kentucky website has some
amazing animations of physical and chemical
weathering surfaces common in the different regions,
from warm and wet to dry.

Physical Weathering
Physical weathering is the breaking of rocks into
smaller pieces. This can happen through exfoliation,
freeze-thaw cycles, abrasion, root expansion, and wet-
dry cycles.

Exfoliation at Yosemite National Park.C.E. Watkins. Yosemite Views. Image 435041. New York Public Library

Exfoliation: When temperature of rocks rapidly

changes that can expand or crack rocks. This
especially happens with granitic rocks as they were
cooling, like at Yosemite National Park.

Freeze-thaw: When water freezes, it expands. If

moisture seeps into cracks before winter, it can then
freeze, driving the rocks apart.

Abrasion: When the wind blows, it can pick up sand

and silt, and literally sandblast rocks into pieces.

Root Expansion: Like freeze thaw, roots grow bigger

every year. These roots can drive the roots apart.

Chemical Weathering
Chemicals react in the environment all the time, and
these cause chemical weathering. Major chemical
reactions include carbonation, dissolution, hydration,
hydrolysis, and oxidation-reduction reaction. All of
these reactions have water involved with them.

Example of Limestone Dissolution in the Cathedral Room at Florida Caverns State Park. Credit: State
Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, Mark Ludlow.

Carbonation: When water reacts with carbon dioxide,

it creates carbonic acid, which can dissolve softer
rocks.

Dissolution: Limestone and rocks high in salt dissolve

when exposed to water. The water carries away the
ions.

Hydrolysis: Minerals in the rock react with water and

surrounding acids. The hydrogen atoms replace other
cations. Feldspar hydrate to clay.
Oxidation-Reduction: Water and rock particles react
with oxygen. This causes the minerals and materials
to rust and turn red.

If the area is hot and humid, chemical weathering is

more prevalent. If it is drier, physical weathering is
more predominant.

Related Link
Geology Kitchen: Weathering YouTube video with
Devin Denny that shows hands on activities and
demonstrations that can be done with weathering.

https://youtu.be/guYOWnoaG7c

2.2 Soil Structure

Soil structure is the arrangement of soil particles into
small clumps, called peds or aggregates. Soil
particles (sand, silt, clay and even organic matter)
bind together to form peds. Depending on the
composition and on the conditions in which the peds
formed (getting wet and drying out, or freezing and
thawing, foot traffic, farming, etc.), the ped has a
specific shape. They could be granular (like gardening
soil), blocky, columnar, platy, massive (like modeling
clay) or single-grained (like beach sand). Structure
correlates to the pore space in the soil which
influences root growth and air and water movement.

Read more and download our Soil

Texture information sheet.

Soil Color

The color of soil is measured by its hue (actual color), value (how light and dark it is), and chroma (intensity).

Soil color is influenced primarily by soil mineralogy –

telling us what is in a specific soil. Soils high in iron
are deep orange-brown to yellowish-brown. Those soils
that are high in organic matter are dark brown or
black. Color can also tell us how a soil “behaves” – a
soil that drains well is brightly colored and one that is
often wet and soggy will have a mottled pattern of
grays, reds, and yellows. Read more about soil color!