9319967 SCHAETZL Considerable attention has been given by physical geographers, soil scientists, and other scientists to studies of the processes through which soils have been formed. In regions that have undergone relatively recent glacial deposition, such as large parts of the Midwestern states, analyses of soil morphology are complicated by the need to differentiate between glacial processes that deposited different types of materials and the more localized processes that later altered the structure and composition of materials. A set of soils for which these roles of these two general forces are poorly understood are bisequal soils, having two sets of lower horizons. This project will examine two broadly distributed bisequal soils in Michigan, evaluating how water flows through these soils and interacts with parent materials. Water flow within the upper two meters of loamy and sandy materials in various parts of drumlins and moraines will be measured and analyzed. Soil properties like lithology, mineralogy, and texture will be examined to determine whether the two different sets of horizons are the product of the same morphological processes operating of different parent materials. The results of this research project will provide valuable new insights regarding the processes through which water and other forces create and alter soils. The types of soils to be examined in this project are similar to bisequal soils that are found in large parts of the Midwest and in other locales. The study also will contribute additional data on stratigraphy and lithology of soils in lower Michigan, providing a foundation for additional research on soil morphology in recently glaciated regions. ***
