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Weathering Profiles in Fluvial Sediments of the Middle Coastal Plain of Virginia¹

ABSTRACT

Deep borings in the fluvial-marine Bacons Castle Formation and younger stream terrace sediments in the Middle Coastal Plain of Virginia were evaluated for a potential landfill site. The weathering profiles exposed by deep (>9 m) bore holes and 2- to 3-m deep backhole pits can be divided into three major zones: (i) the unmottled (UO) uppermost zone, which seldom, if ever, is subjected to a fluctuating water table; (ii) the mottled (MO) intermediate zone which is the zone of the capillary fringe and fluctuating water table; and (iii) the lowermost mottle-gley (MD) zone which is usually saturated.

The UO zone is characterized by uniform bright soil colors of reds to yellows with the iron uniformly distributed except in contrasting textures of fine over coarse. A pale interior (2 chroma or less) and bright exterior (3 chroma or more) mottle occurs in these cases. The MO zone contains about the same iron content but it is segregated into red and dark red concentrates within peds and has pale (2 chroma) exterior colors on the ped faces. The MD zone has lost much free iron and is mostly gray with some remnant oxidized areas remaining. No manganese ped coatings or nodules were observed. Recognition of weathering profiles well beneath the solum of most soils is important in evaluating soil use for deep landfills or other uses where recognition of water table levels is crucial.

¹ Contribution from the Dep. of Agronomy, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blackburg, VA 24061. Presented before Div. S-5, 14 Nov. 1977. Soil Sci. Soc. of Am., Los Angeles.

² Formerly Assistant Professors, Dep. of Agronomy VPI & SU. Now Associate Professors, Soil Dep., North Dakota State Univ., P.O. Box 5639, Fargo, ND 58105, and Dep. of Plant and Soil Sci., Univ. of Tennessee, P.O. Box 1071, Knoxville, TN 37901, respectively.

Received for publication March 8, 1982. Accepted for publication October 15, 1982.