Basaltic soil

Mbssbauer spectra measured by the Opportunity rover at the Meridiani Planum landing site (see Fig. 8.35) revealed four mineralogical components in Meridiani Planum at Eagle crater jarosite- and hematite-rich outcrop (see Eig. 8.34), hematite-rich soil, olivine-bearing basaltic soil, and a variety of rock fragments such as... 

Hematite in the soil is concentrated in spherules and their fragments, which are abundant on nearly all soil surfaces. Several trenches excavated using the rover wheels showed that the subsurface is dominated by basaltic sand, with a much lower abundance of spherules than at the surface. Olivine-bearing basaltic soil is present throughout the region. At several locations along the rover s traverse, sulfate-rich bedrock outcrops are covered by no more than a meter or so of soil. 

Fig. 8.36 Leyt Spectrum of the soil close to the crater rim where Opportunity entered and exited the crater. The basaltic soil is unusually high in hematite (but no indication of significant contribution Irom hematitic spherules). Middle rover tracks. Right 750 m diameter (. 75 m deep) eroded impact crater Victoria Crater, formed in sulfate-rich sedimentary rocks. Image acquired by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter High-Resolution Science Experiment camera (Hirise). The red line is the drive path of Opportunity exploring the crater. (Courtesy NASA, JPL, ASU, Cornell University)...

Fig. 8.37 Left, spectrum of an accumulation of hematite rich spherules (Blueberries) on top of basaltic soil (Sol 223-228 of the mission 1 Sol = 1 Martian day). The spectrum is dominated by the hematite signal. Estimations based on area ratios (bluebeiries/soil) and APXS data indicate that the blueberries as composed mainly of hematite. Right MI picture (3x3 cm ) of hematitic spherules (blueberries) on basaltic soil at Meridiani Planum...

Swain, F. G. (1959). Responses to molybdenum three years after previous application on red basaltic soils on the far north coast of New South Wales. J. Aust. Inst. Agric. Sci. 25 51. 

Native fixed ammonium in several Hawaiian soils was found by Mikami and Kanehiro (1968) to a range from 0 to 585 p.p.m. Basaltic soils had a higher content of fixed... 

WILLIAMS J.D.H. and WALKER T.W. 1969. Fractionation of phosphate in a maturity sequence of New Zealand basaltic soil profiles 2. Soil Science, 107, 213-219. 

McAleese, D M, and W A Mitchell, 1958. Studies on the basaltic soils of Northern Ireland. IV. Mineralogical study of the clay separates. /. Soil Sci. 9 76. 

Fig. 9-4 Photograph of landslides (soil avalanches) that occurred following earthquakes in Panama on July 17,1976, near Jaque. In the background is a bay of the Pacific Ocean. The effects of this earthquake are described by Garwood et al. (1979), who estimated that about 42 km (about 10%) of the region near the epicenter of the earthquake was devegetated. The bedrock is mostly island-arc basalts and andesites. (Photography by N. C. Garwood.)...

Basalt, granite, manganese nodules, shale, flint clay, iron formation materials, phosphate rock, fertilizers Calcareous loam soil, loess, polluted farmland soil, sand soil... 

The collection of spectra obtained at Spirit s landing site reveals various miner-alogical signs of weathering. Spectra obtained on the basaltic rocks and soil on the plains show mainly olivine and pyroxene and small amounts of nonstoichio-metric magnetite, and only comparably small amounts of weathering. An example... 

Fig. 8.33 Left, robotic arm with MIMOS II positioned on the rock Adirondack, as seen by the navigation camera of the rover Right. Mossbauer Spectrum (14.4 keV temperature range 220-280 K) of the rock Adirondack at Spirit landing side Gusev Crater, plains. The data were taken at the as-is dusty surface (not yet brushed). The spectrum shows an olivine-basalt composition, typical for soil and rocks in Gusev plains, consisting of the minerals olivine, pyroxene, an Fe doublet, and nonstoichiometric magnetite...

Figure 12. Profiles of Th to Nb ratios for four Hawaiian soils developed on lava flows with ages ranging from 20 ka to 4100 ka (Kurtz et al. 2000). In these soils, Nb is assumed to be an irmnobile element. Variations of Th/Nb ratios, with lower values than those of basalt (greyed area) in the upper part of the profile and higher values in the lower part indieate an internal downward migration of Th in these fom weathering profiles. Cireles = 20 ka Laupahoehoe site, triangles = 150 ka Kohala site, squares = 1400 ka Molokai site, diamonds = 4100 ka Kauai site.

Vertisols in Madagascar formed on basalt and marl contain very high Cr (200-540 mg/kg), while alluvial soils have 190 mg/kg Cr (Aubert and Pinta, 1977). In vertisols derived on alluvions, Pb is in the range of 20-45 mg/kg, while the average Cr in saline soils of the region is from 1-22 mg/kg. Vertic soils on marl and basalt contain 700-2400 mg/kg Mn. In soils derived on clayey sands and alluvions, Zn content is 105 mg/kg. Soils formed on alluvions contain 115 mg/kg Ni. 

In vertisols of Queensland and Tasmania derived on basalt, dolerite and alluvium, total Co is in the range of 7-70 mg/kg, but in soils derived on granodiorite, total Co is 3.5 mg/kg. In soils of the Adelaide and Southeast regions, Co varies from 1-30 mg/kg. 

In vertisols on diorite, basalt, alluvions, and dolerite, total Mn is in the range of 1250-2750 mg/kg, while brown isohumic soils on calcareous sandstone and clayey sediments contain 550-1670 mg/kg Mn. Soils in the Adelaide and Southeast regions contain 140-1400 mg/kg total Mn. In solods on granitic rocks and alluvions, total Mn is 60-990 mg/kg. 

In Queensland, soils on clayey sediments have 3-12 mg/kg total Mo, and mediterranean red soils on granodiorite and basalt contain 2-8.5 mg/kg Mo. In vertisols on dolerite in Tasmania, total Mo is 2.5-3.5 mg/kg. 

In vertisols on diorite and basalt of Queensland, total Zn is 120 mg/kg, while Mediterranean red soils average 11-86 mg/kg of total Zn. Soils on calcareous sandstone and on clayey sediments contain 45-100 mg/kg of total Zn. 

In chernozems formed on serpentinite diluvium, Co content is in the range of 10-30 mg/kg, while in chestnut and chestnut vertic soils, Co concentrations vary from 3-15 and 15-45 mg/kg, respectively. Soils on basalt, andesite and gabbro contain 15-68 mg/kg total Cu. Total Mn in chernozems is in the range of 520-850 mg/kg. Chestnut soils have 42-106 mg/kg Zn content. Total Zn in saline alkali soils is in the range of 40-60 mg/kg Zn. Bioavailable Zn (ammonium acetate-extractable Zn) in chernozems, chestnut soils and saline alkali soils of the steppe zones varies from trace amounts to 3.8 mg/kg (1-8.3% of total Zn). In chernozems of Northern Bulgaria, total B is in the range of 25-53 mg/kg. Boron increases in saline soils and saline alkali soils. 

Morris, R.V. et al. 2006a. Mossbauer mineralogy of rock, soil, and dust at Gusev crater, Mars Spirit s journey through weakly altered olivine basalt on the plains and pervasively altered basalt in the Columbia Hills. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111, E02S13, doi 10.1029/2005JE002584. 

Witter E, Kirchmann H (1989a) Peat, zeolit and basalt as adsorbents of ammoniacal manure nitrogen. Plant Soil 115 43-52... 

Both of the soils are enriched in various elements, like zirconium, titanium, beryllium, niobium, and strontium, due to their enlarged content in the alkali basalts and phonolites of the East-African Rift. We can see that soils of Tanzanian Dry Savanna ecosystems contain niobium 11 times, beryllium and molybdenum 6 times, and titanium and zirconium 4 times as high as compared to the respective crust concentrations (darks) of these metals. In the Ugandan soils, the chromium content is 7 times higher... 

Soils are complex systems that require thorough examination in order to place data in a meaningful framework. For instance, Hawaiian soils from areas with essentially identical young basaltic bedrock and similar annual rainfall have been examined (Huh et al. 2002 Pistiner and Henderson 2003), but results are strikingly different. Huh et al. (2002) reported finding a 2x to 6x increase in Li concentration relative to rmweathered basalt and variations in 5 Li between +3 and +10 from lower to upper soil horizons. Pistiner and Henderson (2003) examined nine successive layers of volcanic soil that showed restricted variability in both... 

Russell et al. (1977, 1978b) also measured two Apollo 17 and one Apollo 15 basalt samples and found small variations of 6 Ca of ca. +l%o, but again also spiked the samples after ion exchange separation so the results need to be verified. Russell et al. (1977) measured calcium obtained by lightly leaching an Apollo 15 soil sample and formd it to have 5 Ca of +3.3 0.4. This heavy Ca is inferred to be associated with the grain surfaces and result from solar wind sputtering. 

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