New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. — 372 p.Although there are many textbooks on soils, there are few that also serve the needs of geomorphologists, sedimentary petrologists, and archeologists working in Quaternary research. This book is an attempt to fill that gap. The emphasis is on the study of soils in their natural setting-the field-since field studies are most significant to Quaternary studies. Such studies are commonly called "pedology." Much of the research that geomorphologists undertake involves the use of soils to date deposits on the basis of soil development and to reconstruct the environment during soil formation. This book focuses on these problems, but other related problems are also discussed. I feel that one cannot adequately use soils for any purpose without understanding the processes and factors that control their formation. Hence, the overall organization of the book is, first, a discussion of soil morphology, weathering, and soil-forming processes and, then, variation in soils with variation in the soil-forming factors (climate, organisms, topography, parent material, and time). My discussion of soil classification is brief and generalized because I feel that it is more important to understand the genesis of a soil than it is to classify a soil.The soil profile, horizon nomenclature, and soil characteristics.
Soil classification.
Weathering processes.
The products of weathering.
Processes responsible for the development of soil profiles.
Factors of soil formation.
Influence of parent material on weathering and soil formation.
Weathering and soil development with time.
Topography-soil relationships.
Vegetation-soil relationships.
Climate-soil relationships.
Application of soils to geomorphological studies.
