Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
color, tonal, soil, variation, glaciation, agriculture
Proposal
This project examined the tonal differences in an agricultural field in Cedarville, Ohio to determine what environmental or historical factors contributed to the distinct light and dark patches when observed using aerial imagery. Historical photos going back as far as 1948 consistently show these tonal differences. Lidar data was gathered and turned into a topographic map which closely corresponded to the tonal patterns. Soil samples taken from six locations to a depth of three feet indicated that the topsoil color closely matches the light and dark colors seen from the air. These samples also match the soil color and composition that Web Soil Survey indicates should be at those different locations. Ultimately, elevation and soil type are determined to be the main contributors to the varying colors. The reason for these elevation and soil differences could not be fully determined. The suspicion is that glacial deposition of the soils, depth to bedrock and groundwater height, or past historical land use might play a role in the variations, but confirmation of these hypotheses will require further study.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Tonal Variation in an Agricultural Field in Greene County, Ohio
This project examined the tonal differences in an agricultural field in Cedarville, Ohio to determine what environmental or historical factors contributed to the distinct light and dark patches when observed using aerial imagery. Historical photos going back as far as 1948 consistently show these tonal differences. Lidar data was gathered and turned into a topographic map which closely corresponded to the tonal patterns. Soil samples taken from six locations to a depth of three feet indicated that the topsoil color closely matches the light and dark colors seen from the air. These samples also match the soil color and composition that Web Soil Survey indicates should be at those different locations. Ultimately, elevation and soil type are determined to be the main contributors to the varying colors. The reason for these elevation and soil differences could not be fully determined. The suspicion is that glacial deposition of the soils, depth to bedrock and groundwater height, or past historical land use might play a role in the variations, but confirmation of these hypotheses will require further study.
