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Nature and Micromorphology of Carbonate Glaebules in Some Vertisols of India¹

ABSTRACT

The mineralogical and chemical nature, size, shape, distribution, and orientation of carbonate glaebules in two Chromusterts and two Pellusterts of India were studied. Micromorphology and ¹⁴C analysis of these features indicated their pedogenic origin. X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses showed that calcite was the only carbonate mineral present and that there were inclusions of primary minerals and other soil constituents. Two morphological groups consisting of black and white glaebules were observed. Black carbonate glaebules had relatively older ¹⁴C dates (26 000 yr BP) and higher amounts of Fe and Mn, and were usually smaller (0.5-cm diam) than the white ones (1.0-cm diam, 4000–14 000 yr BP). Since the black carbonate glaebules were coated by Fe and Mn oxides, they therefore had a smoother surface morphology. The majority of the glaebules had cavities that were partly or entirely filled by carbonate neoformations. Intersecting sets of glaebules with an inclined, banded orientation pattern in the subsoil were interpreted as a sign of stress phenomena, and the quantitative distribution and orientation pattern of these features suggested a self-mixing process. The study also indicated the possibility of using carbonate glaebules as a criterion in the classification of Indian Vertisols.

¹ Contribution no. R432, from Saskatchewan Institute of Pedology, Univ. of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N 0W0.

² Adjunct Professor and Graduate Student, Univ. of Saskatchewan, Dep. of Soil Science, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N 0W0.

Received for publication February 25, 1985.