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    Caliche (Calcrete, Duricrust)

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    Zdravko Vidakovic
    Caliche is a type of soil that is mineralogically similar to limestone and forms in semiarid climates receiving between 10-50cm of rainfall per year. It forms as calcium carbonate precipitates in soils during periods of evaporation as long as the hydrologic conditions remain stable. Caliche most commonly forms in river floodplains and near the surfaces of alluvial fans, as well as within exposed marine and lacustrine limestones during periods of sea-level fall or lake desiccation. The mineralogy of the host soil or rock can vary, but caliche favors formation in low permeability, clay-rich soils which provide sufficient residence time for calcite precipitation.

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    Caliche (Calcrete, Duricrust)

    Uploaded by

    Zdravko Vidakovic
    20 views1 page
    Caliche is a type of soil that is mineralogically similar to limestone and forms in semiarid climates receiving between 10-50cm of rainfall per year. It forms as calcium carbonate precipitates in soils during periods of evaporation as long as the hydrologic conditions remain stable. Caliche most commonly forms in river floodplains and near the surfaces of alluvial fans, as well as within exposed marine and lacustrine limestones during periods of sea-level fall or lake desiccation. The mineralogy of the host soil or rock can vary, but caliche favors formation in low permeability, clay-rich soils which provide sufficient residence time for calcite precipitation.

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    Caliche

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    Caliche is a type of soil that is mineralogically similar to limestone and forms in semiarid climates receiving between 10-50cm of rainfall per year. It forms as calcium carbonate precipitates in soils during periods of evaporation as long as the hydrologic conditions remain stable. Caliche most commonly forms in river floodplains and near the surfaces of alluvial fans, as well as within exposed marine and lacustrine limestones during periods of sea-level fall or lake desiccation. The mineralogy of the host soil or rock can vary, but caliche favors formation in low permeability, clay-rich soils which provide sufficient residence time for calcite precipitation.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    20 views1 page

    Caliche (Calcrete, Duricrust)

    Uploaded by

    Zdravko Vidakovic
    Caliche is a type of soil that is mineralogically similar to limestone and forms in semiarid climates receiving between 10-50cm of rainfall per year. It forms as calcium carbonate precipitates in soils during periods of evaporation as long as the hydrologic conditions remain stable. Caliche most commonly forms in river floodplains and near the surfaces of alluvial fans, as well as within exposed marine and lacustrine limestones during periods of sea-level fall or lake desiccation. The mineralogy of the host soil or rock can vary, but caliche favors formation in low permeability, clay-rich soils which provide sufficient residence time for calcite precipitation.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Caliche  (Calcrete, Duricrust) 

    A soil that is mineralogically an impure limestone. Such soils are also known as duricrust, kunkar, nari,
    kafkalla, Omdurman lime, croute, and race. Many soil profiles in semiarid climates (that is, those
    characterized by a rainfall of 4–20 in. or 10–50 cm per year) contain concentrations of calcium
    carbonate (CaCO3). This calcium carbonate is not an original feature of the soils but has been added
    during soil formation either by direct precipitation in soil pores or by replacement of preexisting
    material. Fossil analogs of caliche, which are widely reported in ancient sedimentary sequences, are
    referred to as calcrete or cornstone. See also Limestone; Soil.

    The principal control on the formation of caliche is a hydrologic regime in which there is sufficient
    moisture to introduce calcium carbonate in solution to the soil but not enough to leach it through the
    system. As a result, calcium carbonate precipitates in the soil during periods of evaporation, and it will
    slowly increase in amount as long as the hydrologic setting remains stable. The source of the carbonate
    may be from the dissolution of adjacent limestones, from the hydrolysis of plagioclase and other
    silicates, or from carbonate loess.

    Within the climatic constraints noted above, most caliche forms in river floodplains and near the surface
    of alluvial fans. In addition, caliche deposits may form within exposed marine and lacustrine limestones
    during periods of sea-level fall or lake desiccation. Caliche may also form at inert pediment (eroded
    rock) surfaces; in the geological record such surfaces will be seen as unconformities. In this context it is
    interesting that the first unconformity ever recognized as such, by James Hutton in 1787 on the Isle of
    Arran, western Scotland, is characterized by a development of caliche. See also Unconformity.

    The mineralogy of the host soil or rock in which a caliche develops may vary considerably; it is not
    essential for there to be any preexisting carbonate grains within the regolith. The most favorable
    medium is a clay-rich soil of limited permeability. Low permeability provides the residence time in the
    soil pores necessary for calcite to precipitate. See also Calcite; Regolith.

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