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Cementation (geology) A brief, easy-to-understand description of cementation is that minerals bond grains of sediment together by growing around them. This process is called cementation and is a part of the rock cycle. Cementation involves ions carried in groundwater chemically precipitating to form new crystalline material between sedimentary ...
Soil chemistry is the study of the chemical characteristics of soil.Soil chemistry is affected by mineral composition, organic matter and environmental factors. In the early 1870s a consulting chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society in England, named J. Thomas Way, performed many experiments on how soils exchange ions, and is considered the father of soil chemistry. [1]
In soil science, mineralization is the decomposition (i.e., oxidation) of the chemical compounds in organic matter, by which the nutrients in those compounds are released in soluble inorganic forms that may be available to plants. [1][2] Mineralization is the opposite of immobilization. Mineralization increases the bioavailability of the ...
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs in situ (on-site, with little or no movement), and so is distinct from erosion, which involves the transport of rocks and minerals by agents such as ...
A soil scientist examining horizons within a soil profile. Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils. [1]
Soil formation. Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order (anisotropy) within soils.
Clay is a very fine-grained geologic material that develops plasticity when wet, but becomes hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing. [2][3][4] It is a very common material, [5] and is the oldest known ceramic. Prehistoric humans discovered the useful properties of clay and used it for making pottery. [6]
Leaching is the process of a solute becoming detached or extracted from its carrier substance by way of a solvent. [1] Leaching is a naturally occurring process which scientists have adapted for a variety of applications with a variety of methods. Specific extraction methods depend on the soluble characteristics relative to the sorbent material ...