Till Alberta 1953

Multi-year till sampling surveys, province of Alberta, 1953-1968.  


Alberta Research Council

Survey Description

Approximately 475 till samples were collected from over 65% of the province of Alberta during 1958-1963. Sampling was carried out over areas covered by the continental Keewatin ice sheet. The unsampled areas were covered by drift from the Rocky Mountains (i.e. along southwestern margin of the province), were difficult to access or were covered by deposits other than till as in northern Alberta where large areas are covered by lacustrine sediments. Some samples were collected by Alberta Soil Survey staff during the course of their fieldwork. The data are published in Research Council of Alberta Bulletin 26.

Data Description: Paper report.

Quantities Analysed: Fraction not stated; analyses of Cu, B, and Cu by a rapid powder-spark technique, using an emission spectrograph. Fe, Mn, and Ca by XRF; Zn and Mo by a DC arc rack-up technique.

Geochem Plots Available: Contour plots show dispersal of selected elements in till.

Other Analyses: Inorganic carbon by LECO. Clay minerals by X-ray diffraction with follow-up chemical analysis on selected samples; light mineral analysis (S.G. <2.75); carbonate; pH.



Publication History

Pawluk, S., Bayrock, L.A. (1969). Some characteristics and physical properties of Alberta tills. Research Council of Alberta Bulletin 26, 72 p.


Project History

1953-1969 Alberta till sampling surveys, carried out between 1958 and 1963.
  Till samples were collected on a random basis over most of the accessible portions of Alberta between 1958 and 1963. In order to obtain a regional appraisal of parent material composition, the till samples were analyzed for 22 parameters considered to characterize the parent geologic materials from which soils form. This study will help identify the distribution of minor elements in soils, to possibly determine nutrient deficiencies in plants which may be related to the incidence of certain human and animal disorders. The data are published in Research Council of Alberta Bulletin 26.



Minimum Latitude Maximum Latitude Minimum Longitude Maximum Longitude

49º

60º -120º -110º