Paleosols - Geosols
Posted by Charles Tarnocai 17 Jun 1999 19:05:05
From: Charles Tarnocai
To: Alexander Makeev
Date: June 16, 1999
Subj: Paleosols - Geosols
Dear Alexander:
I have been following the debate on paleosols and geosols with
mixed feelings. I am a soil scientist and view the question from
a pedological point of view. Paleosols are soils developed in a
past environment. Some of them are buried and some are on
the surface, but not all buried soils are paleosols. We have used the term paleosol in Canada and, to the best of
my knowledge, no one has opposed it. As far as I know, the
term geosol is not used in soil science. The term paleosol is
well embedded in the literature, so it will be used for a long
time even if the Commission decides to use the term geosol. In my view, sound pedological knowledge is required to
understand paleosols and to carry out proper interpretations
using their properties. I have seen geological sections where
the soils identified as "paleosols" were only the result of
coloration due to groundwaters. I have also seen publications
where paleosols were identified, but they were so poorly
described that it was highly questionable whether they were
soils. I think this is the main problem; changing the name to
geosols will not alter anything. Charles Tarnocai
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Research Branch (ECORC)
K.W. Neatby Building, Rm. 1135
960 Carling Avenue
OTTAWA, Canada, K1A 0C6
Tel.: (613) 759-1857
Fax: (613) 759-1937
E-mail: tarnocaict@em.agr.ca
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Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada:
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