Doctoral Dissertation Research: Pedology and 10-Beryllium Dating of Colluvial Deposits in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

博士论文研究：北卡罗来纳州蓝岭山脉崩积物的土壤学和 10 铍测年

• 批准号: 9405198
• 负责人: Randall Schaetzl
• 金额: $ 0.98万
• 依托单位: Michigan State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1994
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1994-05-01 至 1996-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9405198&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Pedology; 10

9405198 SCHAETZL As early as the 1880s, geomorphologists like William Morris Davis developed and tested models of landscape change in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains. Only recently have new approaches and theories been used to interpret the complex intermixture of landforms in the region, however. New methods for dating materials offer considerable promise for developing a chronology of landforms and materials. This doctoral dissertation research project will elucidate the geomorphic and soils history of the southern Blue Ridge as recorded in colluvial deposits and associated soils from the Little Tennessee River basin of western North Carolina. Sets of colluvium samples drawn from carefully selected series in tributary valleys will be extracted in addition to other data derived in the field. The relative ages of the colluvial samples will be determined by examining soil morphological properties, ratios of iron species, and rations of differentially weatherable minerals. The samples also will be examined using relatively new dating techniques that measure an isotope of beryllium (10-Be). Dates determined using this method should allow identification of a maximum surface exposure age for each sample, thereby enabling examination of the properties and evolutionary histories of these deposits and relative soils in a more quantitative frame of reference. This project will advance knowledge about geomorphological and pedological change in the Blue Ridge province in the southern Appalachians, providing a much firmer chronological context within which to examine processes of landscape and soil evolution. In addition, it will explore the utility of 10-Be dating procedures. As a doctoral dissertation improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.

小行星9405198 早在19世纪80年代，像威廉·莫里斯·戴维斯这样的地貌学家就开发并测试了阿巴拉契亚山脉中部和南部的景观变化模型。 然而，直到最近才有新的方法和理论被用来解释该地区复杂的地貌混合。 测定材料年代的新方法为发展地貌和材料年表提供了相当大的希望。 这个博士论文研究项目将阐明南部蓝岭的地貌和土壤历史记录在崩积物和相关的土壤从小田纳西河流域西部北卡罗来纳州。 从支流河谷中精心挑选的系列中抽取崩积物样本集，并提取现场获得的其他数据。 崩积物样品的相对年龄将通过检查土壤形态特性、铁物种的比率和差异耐候矿物的比率来确定。 这些样品还将使用相对较新的测年技术进行检查，测量铍的同位素（10-Be）。 使用这种方法确定的日期应允许确定每个样品的最大表面暴露年龄，从而能够在更定量的参考框架中检查这些沉积物和相关土壤的性质和演化历史。 该项目将促进对阿巴拉契亚山脉南部蓝岭省地貌和土壤变化的了解，提供更坚实的时间背景，以研究景观和土壤演变的过程。 此外，它将探讨10-Be约会程序的效用。 作为博士论文改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。