Physical characterization of glacial rock flours from fjord deposits in South Greenland–Toward soil amendment

Charles Pesch; Peter Lystbæk Weber; Per Moldrup; Lis Wollesen de Jonge; Emmanuel Arthur; Mogens Humlekrog Greve

doi:10.1002/saj2.20352

Physical characterization of glacial rock flours from fjord deposits in South Greenland–Toward soil amendment

Charles Pesch^*, Peter Lystbæk Weber, Per Moldrup, Lis Wollesen de Jonge, Emmanuel Arthur, Mogens Humlekrog Greve

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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Abstract

Greenlandic fjords contain vast amounts of glacially derived mineral material (glacial rock flour [GRF]), which may be used to amend structureless, low-clay, and water-repellent agricultural soils in South Greenland and elsewhere. In this study, we investigate key physical amendment properties of GRF from 16 different deposits in South Greenland. The clay-sized fraction varied largely (range, 0.11–0.57 kg kg−1), and the particles were mostly angular. The specific surface area (SSA) determined by either ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME, polar liquid) (range, 13.32–88.06 m2 g−1) or water-vapor adsorption (range, 10.62–63.82 m2 g−1) agreed well (r = .90) and were comparable to kaolinitic-clay dominated cultivated soils (KA-soils) with clay content similar to the GRFs. The cation exchange capacities (CECs) (range, 4.25–21.91 cmol kg−1) were similar to or higher than those of the KA-soils. The water content at the permanent wilting point (PWP) for the GRFs were considerably lower than those of the KA-soils. The addition of 5% GRF to a sandy soil from Greenland showed a tendency (although not statistically significant) to increase plant available water (PAW). However, very high GRF addition (10 and 15%) significantly decreased the PAW. The specific surface charge (CEC/SSA) of the GRFs were higher than for comparable KA-soils, suggesting a good soil amendment potential. The results from this study are valuable toward designing sustainable GRF amendment strategies, matching a given cultivated soil with the right amount and type of GRF.

Original language	English
Journal	Soil Science Society of America Journal
Volume	86
Issue number	2
Pages (from-to)	407-422
Number of pages	16
ISSN	0361-5995
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/saj2.20352
Publication status	Published - 1 Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The research was financed by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Technology, and Production Sciences via the project “Glacial Flour as a New, Climate‐Positive Technology for Sustainable Agriculture in Greenland: NewLand.” We would like to thank Donghong Yu (Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience) and Thomas Sørensen Quaade (Aalborg University, Department of Materials and Production) for providing access to the XRD and for the help with the SEM, respectively. We also would like to thank the editor and reviewers for their valuable comments to improve the quality of the paper.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Soil Science Society of America Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Soil Science Society of America.

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title = "Physical characterization of glacial rock flours from fjord deposits in South Greenland–Toward soil amendment",

abstract = "Greenlandic fjords contain vast amounts of glacially derived mineral material (glacial rock flour [GRF]), which may be used to amend structureless, low-clay, and water-repellent agricultural soils in South Greenland and elsewhere. In this study, we investigate key physical amendment properties of GRF from 16 different deposits in South Greenland. The clay-sized fraction varied largely (range, 0.11–0.57 kg kg−1), and the particles were mostly angular. The specific surface area (SSA) determined by either ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME, polar liquid) (range, 13.32–88.06 m2 g−1) or water-vapor adsorption (range, 10.62–63.82 m2 g−1) agreed well (r = .90) and were comparable to kaolinitic-clay dominated cultivated soils (KA-soils) with clay content similar to the GRFs. The cation exchange capacities (CECs) (range, 4.25–21.91 cmol kg−1) were similar to or higher than those of the KA-soils. The water content at the permanent wilting point (PWP) for the GRFs were considerably lower than those of the KA-soils. The addition of 5% GRF to a sandy soil from Greenland showed a tendency (although not statistically significant) to increase plant available water (PAW). However, very high GRF addition (10 and 15%) significantly decreased the PAW. The specific surface charge (CEC/SSA) of the GRFs were higher than for comparable KA-soils, suggesting a good soil amendment potential. The results from this study are valuable toward designing sustainable GRF amendment strategies, matching a given cultivated soil with the right amount and type of GRF.",

author = "Charles Pesch and Weber, {Peter Lystb{\ae}k} and Per Moldrup and {de Jonge}, {Lis Wollesen} and Emmanuel Arthur and Greve, {Mogens Humlekrog}",

note = "Funding Information: The research was financed by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Technology, and Production Sciences via the project “Glacial Flour as a New, Climate‐Positive Technology for Sustainable Agriculture in Greenland: NewLand.” We would like to thank Donghong Yu (Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience) and Thomas S{\o}rensen Quaade (Aalborg University, Department of Materials and Production) for providing access to the XRD and for the help with the SEM, respectively. We also would like to thank the editor and reviewers for their valuable comments to improve the quality of the paper. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 The Authors. Soil Science Society of America Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Soil Science Society of America.",

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AU - Pesch, Charles

AU - Weber, Peter Lystbæk

AU - Moldrup, Per

AU - de Jonge, Lis Wollesen

AU - Arthur, Emmanuel

AU - Greve, Mogens Humlekrog

N1 - Funding Information: The research was financed by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Technology, and Production Sciences via the project “Glacial Flour as a New, Climate‐Positive Technology for Sustainable Agriculture in Greenland: NewLand.” We would like to thank Donghong Yu (Aalborg University, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience) and Thomas Sørensen Quaade (Aalborg University, Department of Materials and Production) for providing access to the XRD and for the help with the SEM, respectively. We also would like to thank the editor and reviewers for their valuable comments to improve the quality of the paper. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Soil Science Society of America Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Soil Science Society of America.

PY - 2022/3/1

Y1 - 2022/3/1

N2 - Greenlandic fjords contain vast amounts of glacially derived mineral material (glacial rock flour [GRF]), which may be used to amend structureless, low-clay, and water-repellent agricultural soils in South Greenland and elsewhere. In this study, we investigate key physical amendment properties of GRF from 16 different deposits in South Greenland. The clay-sized fraction varied largely (range, 0.11–0.57 kg kg−1), and the particles were mostly angular. The specific surface area (SSA) determined by either ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME, polar liquid) (range, 13.32–88.06 m2 g−1) or water-vapor adsorption (range, 10.62–63.82 m2 g−1) agreed well (r = .90) and were comparable to kaolinitic-clay dominated cultivated soils (KA-soils) with clay content similar to the GRFs. The cation exchange capacities (CECs) (range, 4.25–21.91 cmol kg−1) were similar to or higher than those of the KA-soils. The water content at the permanent wilting point (PWP) for the GRFs were considerably lower than those of the KA-soils. The addition of 5% GRF to a sandy soil from Greenland showed a tendency (although not statistically significant) to increase plant available water (PAW). However, very high GRF addition (10 and 15%) significantly decreased the PAW. The specific surface charge (CEC/SSA) of the GRFs were higher than for comparable KA-soils, suggesting a good soil amendment potential. The results from this study are valuable toward designing sustainable GRF amendment strategies, matching a given cultivated soil with the right amount and type of GRF.

AB - Greenlandic fjords contain vast amounts of glacially derived mineral material (glacial rock flour [GRF]), which may be used to amend structureless, low-clay, and water-repellent agricultural soils in South Greenland and elsewhere. In this study, we investigate key physical amendment properties of GRF from 16 different deposits in South Greenland. The clay-sized fraction varied largely (range, 0.11–0.57 kg kg−1), and the particles were mostly angular. The specific surface area (SSA) determined by either ethylene glycol monomethyl ether (EGME, polar liquid) (range, 13.32–88.06 m2 g−1) or water-vapor adsorption (range, 10.62–63.82 m2 g−1) agreed well (r = .90) and were comparable to kaolinitic-clay dominated cultivated soils (KA-soils) with clay content similar to the GRFs. The cation exchange capacities (CECs) (range, 4.25–21.91 cmol kg−1) were similar to or higher than those of the KA-soils. The water content at the permanent wilting point (PWP) for the GRFs were considerably lower than those of the KA-soils. The addition of 5% GRF to a sandy soil from Greenland showed a tendency (although not statistically significant) to increase plant available water (PAW). However, very high GRF addition (10 and 15%) significantly decreased the PAW. The specific surface charge (CEC/SSA) of the GRFs were higher than for comparable KA-soils, suggesting a good soil amendment potential. The results from this study are valuable toward designing sustainable GRF amendment strategies, matching a given cultivated soil with the right amount and type of GRF.

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Physical characterization of glacial rock flours from fjord deposits in South Greenland–Toward soil amendment

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