RESEARCH METHOD
Soil micromorphology
Microstratigraphy and formation processes in undisturbed samples.
01
What the method shows
Microstratigraphy, pedofeatures, pores, inclusions and relationships between mineral and organic components in undisturbed blocks.
How we use it in HEL
When macroscopically similar deposits need to be separated into soil formation, surfaces, bioturbation, waste, burning or levelling.
02
How the method works
An undisturbed block is removed from the profile, dried, resin-impregnated and made into a thin section. It is examined in plane and cross-polarised light, preserving the original relationships among structure, pores, minerals, organic inclusions and pedofeatures.
This preserves microstratigraphy and can separate thin surfaces, redeposition, bioturbation, burning, decay of building materials or repeated levelling that may merge into a single macroscopic layer in the field.
Micromorphology describes processes in a very small volume. Interpretation must therefore retain the exact position of the block within the profile and rely on representative sampling across relevant contexts.
macrostratigraphy, geochemistry, grain size, organic residues and detailed field documentation.
03
In practice
- Input / materialundisturbed soil or sediment blocks and thin sections
- Scale / resolutionµm–mm structures within stratigraphic units
- Sampling / preparationblocks sampled within units and across selected boundaries
- Typical outputthin-section descriptions, microfacies and annotated plates
04
Limits and control
Small sampled volume and demanding preparation; representativeness depends on careful sampling and profile context.
Mikulčice and Wenceslas Square: separating formation processes within Dark Earth and urban sediments.
05
References and HEL studies
Selected studies underpinning the method descriptions and examples used by Human Earth Lab.