Pedogenic carbonate proxies for amount and seasonality of precipitation in paleosols

Abstract

Research Article| April 01, 2005 Pedogenic carbonate proxies for amount and seasonality of precipitation in paleosols Gregory J. Retallack Gregory J. Retallack 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Gregory J. Retallack 1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 12 Oct 2004 Revision Received: 24 Nov 2004 Accepted: 24 Nov 2004 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2005) 33 (4): 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1130/G21263.1 Article history Received: 12 Oct 2004 Revision Received: 24 Nov 2004 Accepted: 24 Nov 2004 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Gregory J. Retallack; Pedogenic carbonate proxies for amount and seasonality of precipitation in paleosols. Geology 2005;; 33 (4): 333–336. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21263.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The depth to carbonate nodular (Bk) horizon in soils (D in cm) is correlated with mean annual precipitation (P in mm), so that Bk horizons are deep in subhumid regions, but shallow in semiarid regions. Previous quantifications of this relationship are unchanged by this new compilation of 807 soils: P = 137.24 + 6.45D + 0.013D2, where R2 = 0.52, and standard error (S.E.) = ±147 mm. In most North American postglacial soils, the Bk horizon is thin and well defined, whereas in monsoonal tropical soils of Pakistan and Kenya, the Bk horizon is thick and diffuse. Data from 675 modern soils define the relationship between the thickness of soil with nodules (T in cm) and mean annual range of precipitation (M in mm difference between monthly means of wettest and driest months): M = 0.79T + 13.71, where R2 = 0.58, and S.E. = ±22 mm). The relationship between carbonate nodule size (S in cm) and soil age (A in ka) is quantified by 9 radiocarbon-dated soils from Las Cruces, New Mexico: A = 3.92S0.34, where R2 = 0.57, and S.E. = 1.8 k.y. These transfer functions are applied to reconstructing paleoclimatic change from Paleocene–Eocene paleosols of the North Horn Formation and Flagstaff Limestone of Axhandle Canyon, Utah. The terminal Paleocene spike of warmth recorded by fossil plants in nearby Wyoming was coincident with a brief peak in both mean annual precipitation and mean annual range of precipitation in Utah. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.