SOIL CORE ANALYSIS OF THE ASHTON RESEARCH PRAIRIE, IOWA CITY, IOWA

The Ashton Research Prairie (ARP) is a University of Iowa cross-campus project that is focused on the environmental changes that occur as a landscape is restored to prairie. Subsurface research at the ARP has been delayed because there is a lack of data about the Quaternary succession in the area. Detailed core descriptions, elemental characterization via portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), and grain size analyses were conducted on the sediments of the upland area of the ARP to delineate lithologic characteristics and create a basic stratigraphic framework. Using the most complete upland core available, we were able to constrain vertical changes within the succession and correlate sediment packages laterally. Descriptive core logging, monitoring well installation, and stratigraphic determinations were all completed by staff from the Iowa Geological Survey and faculty of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iowa. The most stratigraphically complete core was selected to conduct chemical analysis using an Olympus Delta pXRF, as well as grain size analyses using pipette methods and Camsizer. These data have helped better define and distinguish the sediment packages in the subsurface and evaluate water flow through these geologic units. Understanding the Quaternary geology of the Ashton Research Prairie is foundational for several of the hydrologic research projects that are being developed there, including the study of water table fluctuations and how groundwater flows through the Prairie.