For this lab you need to pick a study location, which can be the community you are currently living in, or you can visit a nearby location that you like It will likely be an urban area, but you can also select a rural landscape or a more natural area like a park, woodland, prairie, tundra, desert, etc The study area should be at least the size of a neighbourhood, preferably the size of a small town, but not as big as a city The method you will use to conduct your observational survey is to walk through your study area, make observations, take some photos and make some notes You should take notice of aspects of the landscape that you may have taken for granted in the past or features that are often just background elements You will synthesize the knowledge gained in this course and apply it to the way you see the environment you live in Simple in one sense, but profound in many others What type of bedrock is underlying your study site Is it sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic (2 marks) How resistant is the bedrock Does it chip and break when you hit it or scratch it with another rock Does the rocks hardness have a connection to the local topography Typically soft rock erodes quickly to flat landscapes while hard rocks resist erosion and maintain elevation in the landscape (2 marks) How deep do soils appear to be You could try to estimate the soft soils overlaying a rock outcrop You could visit a local quarry to find a cross section of soils and the bedrock You could check out a local construction site where a foundation is being excavated Can you see 30 cm of soil, more like a meter or many meters If you cant find any exposed bedrock, that is a telling sign too If there are no frequent rock outcrops and no exposed bedrock, this is a good sign the soils are very deep If the landscape is flat and in an agricultural area, these are other good signs the soils are deep Write a very short description of what you find, it can be point form It should contain at least three observations (3 marks) What texture are the soils From a spot with exposed soil, rub the soil between your fingers Is it gritty and sandy Is it fine and slippery when wet, because it has a lot of clay (hint try to roll a mud worm with your hands, if you can make one that means there is a high clay content) Or is it a loamy mix of many sediment sizes You may need a bit of water to wet the soil you test and clean your hands Sandy soils are well drained, clay soils are poorly drained and loamy soils are the best at holding onto moisture for good plant growth Which soil texture type does your site fall into (3 marks)

Answered step by step

Verified Expert Solution

Link Copied!

Question

1 Approved Answer

Posted on Aug 29, 2020

For this lab you need to pick a study location, which can be the community you are currently living in, or you can visit a

For this lab you need to pick a study location, which can be the community you are currently living in, or you can visit a nearby location that you like. It will likely be an urban area, but you can also select a rural landscape or a more natural area like a park, woodland, prairie, tundra, desert, etc. The study area should be at least the size of a neighbourhood, preferably the size of a small town, but not as big as a city. The method you will use to conduct your observational survey is to walk through your study area, make observations, take some photos and make some notes. You should take notice of aspects of the landscape that you may have taken for granted in the past or features that are often just background elements. You will synthesize the knowledge gained in this course and apply it to the way you see the environment you live in. Simple in one sense, but profound in many others.

What type of bedrock is underlying your study site? Is it sedimentary, igneous or metamorphic? (2 marks)
How resistant is the bedrock? Does it chip and break when you hit it or scratch it with another rock? Does the rock’s hardness have a connection to the local topography? Typically soft rock erodes quickly to flat landscapes while hard rocks resist erosion and maintain elevation in the landscape. (2 marks)
How deep do soils appear to be? You could try to estimate the soft soils overlaying a rock outcrop. You could visit a local quarry to find a cross-section of soils and the bedrock. You could check out a local construction site where a foundation is being excavated. Can you see 30 cm of soil, more like a meter or many meters? If you can’t find any exposed bedrock, that is a telling sign too. If there are no frequent rock outcrops and no exposed bedrock, this is a good sign the soils are very deep. If the landscape is flat and in an agricultural area, these are other good signs the soils are deep. Write a very short description of what you find, it can be point form. It should contain at least three observations. (3 marks)
What texture are the soils? From a spot with exposed soil, rub the soil between your fingers. Is it gritty and sandy? Is it fine and slippery when wet, because it has a lot of clay (hint: try to roll a mud worm with your hands, if you can make one that means there is a high clay content)? Or is it a loamy mix of many sediment sizes? You may need a bit of water to wet the soil you test and clean your hands. Sandy soils are well drained, clay soils are poorly drained and loamy soils are the best at holding onto moisture for good plant growth. Which soil texture type does your site fall into? (3 marks)