Morphological and genetic sequences of carbonate accumulation in desert soils

Title	Morphological and genetic sequences of carbonate accumulation in desert soils
Publication Type	Journal Article
Year of Publication	1966
Authors	Gile L.H, Peterson F.F, Grossman R.
Journal	Soil Science
Volume	101
Pagination	347-360
Date Published	1966
Call Number	00508
Keywords	article, articles, carbonate, horizon morphology, geomorphology, carbonate accumulation, journal, journals, soil, carbonate accumulation, soil, K horizon
Abstract	Horizons with authigenic carbonate are common soils of arid regions and are in many of these soils the most prominent horizon. In a previous paper (4) the K horizon was proposed for those carbonate horizons so strongly carbonate-impregnated that their morphology is determined by the carbonate. The carbonate accumulations in K horizons occur in a variety of macroscopic forms, and range in consistence from soft to extremely hard, but they all have a diagnostic fabric (the K-fabric) in which fine-grained carbonate coats or engulfs skeletal pebbles, sand , and silt grains as an essentially continuous medium. Thus, the K horizon concept includes many prominently carbonate-impregnated horizons, termed variously as caliche, desert crust, calcrete, or croute calcaire, but excludes numerous partially carbonate-impregnated soil horizons and conveys little idea of its won subhorizon sequences or genesis. In this paper, sequences of carbonate horizon morphologies apparently due to progressive carbonate accumulation, and apparently forming the genetic routes to formation of K horizons, are described and discussed.