THE COMPARISON OF GLACIATED AND NON-GLACIATED SOIL SAMPLES FROM MA, MO, WI AND PA

When considering the mechanical analysis of a soil sample, it is important to consider the topography of the region from where the sample was taken. Topography again relates this process back to geology, as it refers to the, “position in the landscape in which the soil is forming” (Brevik 2013). In this study, the differences in soil in glaciated and non-glaciated regions were analyzed. Soil samples were taken from many regions in the United States, including the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Midwest. These studies contrast the composition of corn field soil from the glaciated states of Massachusetts and Wisconsin and non-glaciated states of Missouri and North Carolina. The glaciation of a region permanently alters the composition of the soil in that region. The till and outwash of the soil are important components of the soil from glaciated regions that may have been stripped away. In this study, the differences in glaciated and non-glaciated soil from corn fields will be analyzed by testing soil for pH, nitrates, nitrites, nitrides, grain size, and phosphorus to determine the impacts of glaciation. Analysis of the soils will reveal similar levels of phosphorus, nitrates, nitrites, nitrides, and pH due to the fertilization process. However the grain size shows significant differences. Non glaciated regions are preferable for agriculture because they contain more topsoil than glaciated regions, where topsoil was scraped off by glaciers. Future studies on this topic would give deeper analyses of the contents of the glaciated and non-glaciated soil and would test for more mineral and elemental content.