Soil stratigraphy and Quaternary caliche in the Misis area of the Adana Basin, southern Turkey

Abstract

A section at Kizildere in the Misis-Adana Basin of Turkey reveals relations among mature massive caliche (calcrete) and paleosolic immature caliche and the Tertiary clay (the Handere Formation) and colluvial deposits. It also defines a gradational sequence from unweathered Tertiary clay deposits to massive caliches. From older to younger, the section comprises: Tertiary clays, paleosolic caliche, colluvial material, massive caliche, and lenticular caliche. The two massive caliche beds have similar assemblages of carbonate minerals, whereas the paleosolic caliche contains more clay minerals and most probably represents an earlier stage of massive caliche formation. The variability of types of calcite, the quantity and crystallisation state of palygroskite, and the presence of kaolinite and degraded smectite all support the view that the massive caliche is the end product of a degradation sequence from the Tertiary clay deposit to paleosolic caliche, and the lenticular caliche is the well-known petrocalcic horizon.