Steven G. Driese*, Lee C. Nordt, Amos V. Culbertson, Emily J. Beverly, Gary E. Stinchcomb, & Forrest Williamson (STATS)Department of Geology, Paleoclimatology Research GroupOne Bear Place #97354, Baylor UniversityWaco, TX 76798-7354 ; *Steven_Driese@baylor.edu

South-central Section GSA 2013

Austin

Have lead to major improvements for geoscientists in interpreting climate from the fossil soil (paleosol) record using studies of surface soil systems

(a) Paleoprecipitation (MAP) (b) Seasonality of paleoprecipitation (c) Paleotemperature (d) Soil drainage and

maturitycharacteristics

(climate, organisms, relief, parent material, and time)INPUT (cl, o, r, p, t,…)

Function (f)

OUTPUT f(cl, o, r, p, t,…)equals Soil (S) or soil property (s)

Soils are a multi-variable system

…also, climate influence on soil system is non-linear

Demonstrated by Jenny (1941) and many others

Jenny’s (1941) Environmental Factor Model

Texas Vertisol “Climosequence”: NSF EAR-9814607 (Driese, Nordt and Mora); University of Tennessee- Knoxville, Baylor, TAMU, USDA-NRCS

League Series: MAP 1350-League Series: MAP 1350-1450 mm1450 mm

Lake Charles: MAP 1050-1350 Lake Charles: MAP 1050-1350 mmmm

Laewest Series: MAP 900-Laewest Series: MAP 900-1050 mm1050 mm

Victoria Series: MAP 800-Victoria Series: MAP 800-900 mm900 mm

Parent Material: Beaumont Fm. (>35-Parent Material: Beaumont Fm. (>35-40 ka) alluvium: Texas Coast Prairie40 ka) alluvium: Texas Coast Prairie

Nordt and Driese (2010) Geology, v. 38, p. 407-410.

Culbertson (2013) M.S. Thesis, Baylor University

Culbertson, (2013) Baylor Univ. M.S. Thesis

Upper Paleosol Interval

Pedogenic siderite

Bssg2

Bssg1

Culbertson(2013) Baylor Univ. M.S. Thesis

Lower Paleosol Interval

Culbertson(2013) Baylor Univ. M.S. Thesis

Abrupt, rapid drowning

Upper Paleosol Interval

Culbertson(2013) Baylor Univ. M.S. Thesis

Slow, gradual drowning

NRCS/USDA (soils)

NED(elevation)

NLCD (land cover)

PRISM(MAP & MAT)

Paleosol literature

time periodmorphology

geochemistry, etc…

Database aggregation& management Paleosol Paleoclimate

Model (BU-PPM v. 1.0)

Database workflow

researcher

(Gary Stinchcomb, former Baylor GEO post-doc (now @ Penn. State) + Forrest Williamson from Baylor STATS)

Stinchcomb et al. (2013) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in review

Based on 685 U.S. Soil Profiles and Partial Least Squares Regression of 11 Major Oxides

Stinchcomb et al. (2013) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in review

Based on 685 U.S. Soil Profiles and Partial Least Squares Regression of 11 Major Oxides

BU-PPM1.0 results: Baylor enlarged U.S. data set vs. original Marbut (1935) soil data base used for CIA-K

Model RMSEMAP RMSEMAT RMSPEMAP RMSPEMAT

BU-PPM1.0 228 2.46 512 3.98

CIA-K 195 - 391 -(Na2O+K2O)/Al2O3 - 3.63 - 6.32

Stinchcomb et al. (2013) Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, in review

BU-PPM1BU-PPM 1.0.0 website – graphical interface

Lower Paleosol Interval Upper Paleosol Interval

Soil Age (yr) MAP (mm)

Ships 1000 1120Pledger 6600 1200Burleson 16000 1120Lake 40000 1150Charles

Mercedes 7500 700

Older South Texas soil (Mercedes) in lower MAP resembles younger East Texas soil (Ships) in higher MAP