Soils of the Past

A student-friendly textbook that describes ancient soils, how they may be identified, and their use in paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Ancient soils contain vital mineralogical, geochemical, textural, and paleontological information about the continental environments in which they formed. Advances in isotope geochemistry and sequence-stratigraphic models allow evermore detailed reconstructions of environmental change from paleosols, and new insights into such diverse topics as atmospheric chemistry, global change, paleoecology, geobiology and mass extinction. This book educates readers about the field of paleopedology and how it remains a key area of investigation for geologists and environmental scientists seeking to learn about, and reconstruct, the condition and evolution of paleoenvironments. 

Presented in three sections—Soils and Palesols; Factors in Soil Formation; and Fossil Record of Soils—Soils of the Past: An Introduction to Paleopedology describes the main types of ancient soil, procedures for identifying and studying them, their classification and, most significantly, a wide array of examples of how paleosols have been used for paleoenvironmental reconstruction. The book is an excellent reflection of the current state of knowledge and can be widely adopted over many disciplines.

• All chapters have been revised and updated to reflect advances in soil science in the last two decades
• New tables display a wealth of new data added since the 2nd edition published in 2001
• New figures have been added and line art has been redrawn to improve clarity and promote understanding
• References have been updated throughout

Soils of the Past, 3rd Edition is written for advanced undergraduates studying paleopedology as part of a degree in geology, environmental science, or physical geography, and for interested professional earth scientists.