Soil profiles with distinctive, complex color patterns are characteristic of soils undergoing podzolization. Podzolization, the predominant process of soil formation on acid, sandy parent materials under forest vegetation in the northern US and Canada, involves the movement of aluminum, organic carbon, and often iron from the surface horizon into the B horizon. Traditional methods for evaluating the strength of soil development in these soils are labor-intensive, involving extensive laboratory work. This study will focus on developing a simple, field-based method to evaluate strength of soil development based on in situ measurement of spectral reflectance patterns in the profile. The project is expected to demonstrate, for the first time, that a portable spectrophotometer can be used to provide precise, reliable measurements of soil color and spectral reflectance in situ. This research will provide a foundation for the study of soil color in the field that is likely to be applicable to a wide variety of soil types. The resulting index of soil development will be useful in many pedological and soil geomorphological studies in corresponding parent materials. Possible applications include relating soil development to surface age, using soils to provide relative age dating of geomorphological or buried surfaces, and evaluating archeological sites. Furthermore, the relative ease with which spectral reflectance data can be obtained will also make investigation of the spatial variability of soil development on landforms and within mapping units, which requires sampling large numbers of points, possible. This POWRE award will enhance the investigator's career objectives by allowing her to explore a novel line of inquiry which applies her understanding of spectral reflectance and color, gained in previous remote sensing training, to current research interests in soil geomorphology. The project will significantly enhance the investigator's professional standing in the fields of soil geomorphology and pedology. It also will greatly strengthen her overall research agenda, and improve her standing with respect to her upcoming tenure review.
