Calcrete paleosol (top of Cockburn Town Member, Grotto Beach Formation, Upper Pleistocene; inland roadcut, southeastern San Salvador Island, eastern Bahamas) 1 (15226892101)

Description:

Description: Calcrete paleosol (13 cm across) - calcretes are a common type of paleosol in San Salvador Island’s bedrock. Calcretes are lithified soil horizons, and are composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Calcretes are (& were) hard as rock, but they are still soil horizons. Calcretes are extreme forms of pedocal soils, and are often developed on carbonate platform islands. This Late Pleistocene calcrete is developed above an aeolian calcarenite unit (a wind-deposited limestone composed of sand-sized calcareous grains). The upper surface of the calcrete has a somewhat smoothed nodular nature. The underside (see photos elsewhere in this album) has cemented lime sand, vegemorphs/rhizocretions, a pisolite, a fossil Tectarius snail shell, and three fossil Cerion land snail shells. Stratigraphy - paleosol capping eolian calcarenites at the top of the Cockburn Town Member, Grotto Beach Formation, Upper Pleistocene Locality: inland roadcut, southeastern San Salvador Island, eastern Bahamas. Date: 13 September 2014, 19:43. Source: Calcrete paleosol (top of Cockburn Town Member, Grotto Beach Formation, Upper Pleistocene; inland roadcut, southeastern San Salvador Island, eastern Bahamas) 1. Author: James St. John.