TOC ANALYSES FROM LATE HOLOCENE PALEOSOLS IN THE WHITE RIVER BADLANDS TO SUPPORT STRATIGRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS

This past summer marks the 10th year field research expeditions have been taken to Badlands National Park, South Dakota by Slippery Rock University Students. We study late Holocene Pediments associated with the retreating ‘castles' of the Oligocene Brule Formation. These castles have been eroded, forming alluvial fans as portion of late Holocene pediments. Radiocarbon dates of the youngest paleosols suggest that sometime within the past five to nine-hundred years these sod tables have been incised at rapid rates. Soil horizons have been widely used in both paleoclimate reconstruction and stratigraphic correlation. Paleosols, or buried soils, reflect soil formation during an interval of surface stability. This study examines paleosol organic carbon content for use in correlation of sod table horizons within the park. We described soil profiles and sampled paleosols within Holocene sod tables, which are erosional remnants of dissected pediments. In May 2008 we retrieved one-hundred soil samples for further soil analysis. Soil samples were analyzed from four soil profiles for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) by a standard Loss On Ignition (LOI) process, which incinerates carbon in a furnace. The results of this study reveal TOC of 9.2% within horizon Ab from CT01-08. In comparison to underlying and overlying horizons (C2 and C1 respectively) they revealed a TOC of 4.2% and 6.5%. Similar results in other paleosols within the soil profiles indicated the same trend, i.e. an increase of TOC within the paleosol layers, which we hope can assist in correlating undated paleosols with horizons from soil profiles that have dated horizons.