SOILS AND THE QUATERNARY CLIMATE SYSTEM

Abstract

This chapter illustrates the complexity of extracting paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic information from preserved soils and discusses examples that show how soil is related to climate and, in turn, the types of climate change information that can be derived from soil studies. Because of the pedogenic processes that attempt to equilibrate with earth-surface variables, soils can be more stable than rocks at the surface. Evidence of soil stabilizing the landscape is seen in humid river valleys and in broad interfluvial landscapes. The examples discussed in the chapter demonstrate how field research supported by improved analytical techniques is critical for advancing the understanding of Quaternary landscapes. Process models describing soil development are useful for portraying the interactions of complex variables as soils evolve toward steady states. Climate modeling is an iterative process in which the terrestrial impacts of dust production, albedo, and soil moisture on climate must be assessed, along with the terrestrial impacts of climate variation on soils.