Cryosolic pedons from Northern Canada, Version 1

Pedons included here represent Cryosolic (permafrost-affected) soils from across the Canadian North from Baffin Island in the east, to the lower Mackenzie Valley and northern Yukon in the west, and to Ellesmere Island in the High Arctic. Pedon locations are Pangnirtung Pass, Baffin Island, N.W.T. (8 pedons); Inuvik area, N.W.T. (2 pedons); Mackenzie Delta, N.W.T. (2 pedons); Tanquary Fiord, Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. (4 pedons); Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. (4 pedons); Eagle Plains, northern Yukon (3 pedons); Dawson City area, central Yukon (2 pedons).

Cryosolic soils, according to the Canadian soil classification, are either mineral or organic materials that have permafrost either within 1 m of the surface (Static and Organic Cryosols) or within 2 m (Turbic Cryosols) if more than one-third of the pedon has been strongly cryoturbated, as indicated by disrupted, mixed, or broken horizons. They have a mean annual temperature below 0 degree C. In the soil profile descriptions, the perennially frozen (permafrost) soil horizons are identified by the letter 'z'. The descriptions and nomenclature used to describe these pedons are according to - Expert Committee on Soil Survey. 1983. The Canada Soil Information System, Manual for describing soil in the field. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Agriculture Canada Expert Committee on Soil Survey. 1987. The Canadian System of Soil Classification. (2nd ed.) Research Branch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada. The methods for laboratory analysis are according to -Sheldrick, B.H. (editor). 1984. Analytical Methods Manual. 1984. Land Resource Research Institute, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada.

Additional information relating to these pedons can be obtain by contacting Charles Tarnocai, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Research Branch (ECORC), K.W. Neatby Building, Rm. 1135, 960 Carling Avenue, OTTAWA, Canada, K1A 0C6; Tel.- [phone]; Fax- [phone]; E-mail- [e-mail]. The data file on the CAPS Version 1.0 CD-ROM contains laboratory analyses of the soil samples, including chemical, physical, mineralogical (clay mineralogy when applicable), and particle size distribution analyses.