Micromorphology of the buried Quaternary soil within Burchell's ‘Ebbsfleet Channel’, Kent

Abstract

Thin section descriptions are used in conjunction with field and bulk analytical data to characterise and interpret the buried soil within Burchell’s ‘Ebbsfleet Channel’ deposits at Northfleet, Kent. The development of the buried soil can be separated into four phases beginning with deposition of the Middle Loam parent material. Phase 2 represents the main period of soil formation with calcite dissolution/reprecipitation, clay illuviation and bioturbation processes dominant. A change to wetter conditions and eventual re-establishment of the Ebbsfleet river (phase 3) led to translocation of silty clay, precipitation of iron/manganese oxides, soil truncation, deposition of the Upper Loam and disruption due to loading and/or slumping. Further modification took place after complete burial during phase 4, including partial recalcification of the soil by groundwaters or very recent post-excavation surface leachates. The exact age of the soil is uncertain, although phases 2 and 3 of this development sequence probably took place mainly during either the Ipswichian interglacial or an undefined post-Hoxnian/pre-Ipswichian temperate interval.