Albeluvisol development with time in loamy marine sediments of southern Norway

This paper reports a study on soil development in loamy marine sediments on both sides of the Oslofjord (Vestfold, Østfold). This region has been subject to steady glacio-isostatic uplift during the whole Holocene. Hence, land surface age continuously increases from the coast inland. Several sea level curves, based on radiocarbon datings, enable estimation of land surface age for all locations. Clay illuviation starts in less than 1650 years. E horizons become lighter with age, but their lower boundary stays around 40 cm for more than 10 000 years. Albeluvic tongues develop between 4600 and 6200 years. Initially, they form along intersections of cracks. As preferential flow and leaching along the cracks continues, the tongues increase in length and width, progressively consuming the prisms between the cracks in the upper Bt horizon. The Fed/Fet ratios (weighted means of the upper meter) show a clear linear increase with soil age and may be used for “pedo-dating”, i.e. for estimating the ages of non-dated land surfaces covered with similar sediments. In contrast, the logarithmic decrease of base saturation and pH, with rapid changes in the first time but only very slight changes between 2000 and 10 000 years, makes these parameters unsuitable for “pedo-dating”.