Preliminary Report on Uncontaminated Soil Profiles, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico

摘要

Soils of the Pajarito plateau, located in north-central New Mexico, are variable in terms of soil type, soil properties (such as clay and iron content, etc.) and soil-landform relationship. A variety of geomorphic settings exist on the Pajarito Plateau, generally grouped into mesa top, slope, and canyon floor. The parent material for the soils, though nearly always volcanic in origin, also varies from site to site on the plateau. Soil ages vary from (probably) late Pleistocene to late Holocene. The range in elevations witMn the Pajarito Plateau result in a variety of vegetative zones. The variability in factors such as vegetation, parent lithology, geomorphic setting and time, lead to a wide range of soil types and degree of soil development, reflected in the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Data on the physical and chemical properties of fourteen soils are given in this report, and serve to emphasize the variable character of soils on the plateau.