Textural and Scanning Electron Microscope Observations of Some Arctic-Alpine Soils Developed in Weichselian and Neoglacial Till Deposits in Southern Norway

Abstract

Particle size data and SEM observations are used to assess both the nature of some Weichselian (ca. 9000 yr of age) and Neoglacial (ca. 230 yr of age) till parent materials and subsequent pedogenesis occurring within them at four sites in southern Norway. Regarding these aspects, comparisons are made between the different aged surfaces at two low-altitude maritime sites which are geologically acidic, and at two higher altitude sites which are relatively continental and geologically basic. The Weichselian tills are texturally more mature than their Neoglacial counterparts, and since both tills are considered to be locally derived, the degree of textural maturity is largely influenced by the time period over which the till was formed. Pedogenesis, in terms of weathering and translocation, is more advanced on the older surfaces and becomes less intense with increasing depth in the soil. Tills at the geologically acidic sites are slightly coarser than those at the geologically basic sites, probably owing to the presence of relatively large amounts of mechanically resistant quartz at the former locations. The intensity of pedogenic weathering and translocation is greater at the low-altitude sites where environmental conditions, in terms of climate and vegetation, are more favorable than at the higher altitude sites.