Weathering processes in superficial deposits (regolith) and their influence on pedogenesis: A case study in the Swiss Jura Mountains

Abstract

The last glacial period left a mantle of freshly reworked sediments covering the European landscape. Glacial, periglacial, fluvio-glacial, and aeolian dynamics enhanced transportation and mixing of materials, generating new superficial deposits in which Holocene soils developed. These assorted surface sediments often differed from the underlying bedrock in their lithological composition and texture, and were delimited by lithological discontinuities. In the Swiss Jura Mountains, the Mesozoic limestone bedrocks are covered by various superficial deposits (moraines, cover-beds, loess deposits, cryoclasts, etc.), which reduce or even suppress the influence of limestone on present-day soil development. In this context, soils and their underlying bedrock no longer present a genetic continuity. The nature and relationships between these deposits is studied within a toposequence of soils, in terms of their mineralogical and geochemical compositions. Three main superficial deposits (limestone bedrock clasts, loess, and non-carbonate moraine), are used as reference materials in order to characterize the complex mixing of sediments through the toposequence. Soils with limestone clasts undergo decarbonation and decalcification processes. Iron-rich Alpine loess deposits, composed of fine silicate particles, enhance brunification process in soils. A non-carbonate Alpine moraine displays the most acidic conditions within the toposequence due to enhanced leaching (clay and ions) processes. Consequently, the reworked surface sediments (including limestone cryoclasts, moraines, and cover-beds) have a prevailing influence on pedogenesis compared to the hard underlying bedrock.