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Soils, even those formed in Earth’s driest landscapes, are dynamic
biological, chemical, and physical environments. Far from static, soil
profiles vibrate and churn over geologic time with the movement of
organisms, solutions, minerals, and gases. Desert soil horizons are
characterized by the accumulation of salts such as calcium carbonate;
however, this process is not unidirectional. Small changes in rainfall
over centuries or millennia can trigger large magnitude responses in
soil solution chemistry, mineralogy, morphology, and landscape
stability. This talk will describe how the mineralogy and
micromorphology of arid soils and paleosols can be used to interpret
past environmental conditions, and to constrain rates of landscape
change.
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