The continuity of a narrow meandering strip of Udoll (prairie) soils running east and west for approximately 40 miles across north central Indiana in an area predominantly of Udalfs (timber soils) was detected from LANDSAT-1 data taken on June 9, 1973. This data was processed through a clustering procedure and classified with resulting increased definition of the boundaries among soils grouped according to nine categories and vegetation to two categories of reflectance. This dark stretch of prairie soil is believed to have formed in the heavy textured, poorly drained glacial debris which filled a major pre-glacial tributary of the Teays River System. Ready identification and location of the valley has significance to soil survey and land classification people as a guide to soil classification and land use and to geologists as a guide to location of a potentially economically significant aquifer

Goodrick, F. E.

Melhorn, W. N.

Peterson, J. B.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

By J. B. Peterson, F. E. Goodrick and W. N. Helhorn 
Purdue University, WeLlt Lafayette, Indlana - .  - - -  
ABSTRACT h ~ 7 6 - q 7 4 7 6  
The continuity of a narrw meandering s t r i p  of Udoll (pra i r ie )  s o i l s  running east 
and vest f o r  approximately 60 miles across m r t h  cen t r a l  Indiana i n  an a r m  predominantly 
of Udalfs (:iraber s o i l s )  is apparent i n  LAlsDSAT-1 (ERTS-1) data. The dark Udoll s o i l s  
occur i n  p r e d d n a n t l y  f l a t  topography cont ras t ing  sharply i n  satellite imagery from 
surrounding J.ight colored Udalf s o i l s  in t h e  cha rac t e r i s t i ca l ly  ro l l i ng ,  undeveloped 
landscape of the  l a t e  Wisconsin till plains. 
The data f o r  t he  LAWCSAT-1 -cry wer cen t r a l  Iadlana fo r  fune 9, 1973 were pro- 
cessed through a c lus ter ing  procedure and c l a s s i f i e d  with r e su l t i ng  increased d e f i n i t i o n  
of the  boundaries among s o i l s  grouped according t o  nine categories  and vegetat ion t o  two 
categories  of rd l ec t ance .  
This dark s t r e t c h  of p r a i r i e  s o i l  is believed t o  have formed i n  the  heavy textured, 
poorly drained g l a c i a l  debr is  which f i l l e d  a major pre-glacial t r i bu ta ry  of t he  Teays 
River epotem. This va l ley  w a s  apparently reoccupied and pa r t ly  reexcavated by surface 
drainege during in t e rg l ac i a l  times following r e t r e a t  of t he  Kansan and I l l i n o i a a  age i c e  
invasions. Final  f i l l i n g  of the  va l ley  occurred during r e t r e a t  of the  East White sublobe 
of the  Wisconsin s tage  ice. 
In teres t ingly  enough, the  o r ig in  and the  continuity of t h i s  meandering s t r e t c h  of 
p r a i r i e  was not recognized by s o i l  s c i e n t i s t s  who over a 60 year period, mapped the  
three counties which encoPpac,s it. Furthermore, geologists  who had been searching for  
t he  exact locat ion of t h i s  buried va l ley  had been unsuccessful u n t i l  the  UNDSAT data  
provided an adequate synoptic view. 
2eady idenr i f ica t ion  and locat ion of t h e  val ley has s ignif icance t o  s o i l  survey and 
land c l a s s i f i ca t ion  people a s  a guide t o  s o i l  c l a s s i f i ca t ion  and land use and t o  geolo- 
g i s t s  a s  a guide t o  locat ion of a potent ia l ly  economically s ign i f i can t  aquifer.  
INTRODUCTION 
LANDSAT-1 da ta  f o r  w e s t  c en t r a l  I ~ d i a n a  revealed an anomalous reach of dark land 
meandering i n  an east-west d i rec t ion  through an area  of l i g h t e r  colored s o i l s .  Field 
s tudies of the s o i l s  and geologj of the region reveal  the  dark area  t o  cons is t  predom- 
inantly of ? r a i r i e  s o i l s  i n  contrast  t o  surrounding tlmber s o i l s .  Also the dark s t r i p  
is found to  de l inea te  a long sought buried t r ibutary  of the Teays preglac ia l  r i v e r  system. 
The r e su l t s  of the study suggest a technique f o r  using LANDSAT data t o  loca te  other 
buried val leys which may be important sources of ground water and mineral deposits.  
TECHNIQUES 
Multispectral scanner data acquired during a LANDSAT-1 overpass on June 9, 1973 was 
c lass i f ied  with the standard LARSYS c l a s s i f i c a t i o n  procedure i n t o  eleven spec t r a l  classes:  
f i ve  classes of very dark-colored s o i l s ,  two of s o i l s  of intermediate tone, two of l ight-  
colored s o i l s ,  and two of green vegetation. Corn and soybeans, which covered most of the 
cul t ivated land i n  t h i s  a rea  i n  the  1973 growing season, by June 9 had not produced enough 
canopy t o  in t e r f e re  noticeably with the re f lec ted  radiance from bare s o i l .  A plo t  of 
re la t ive  ref lectance was made along a north-south traneect  south of Frankfort,  Indiana 
and perpendicular t o  the east-west reach of dark-colored s o i l .  
DISCUSSION 
The continuity of a long, narrow, meandering s t r i p  of p r a i r i e  s o i l s  t raversing ap- 
proximately 65 km i n  an east-west d i rec t ion  across north-central Indiana was f i r s t  noted 
on LANDSAT-1 i m g  -y. This par t icu lar  reach of dark-colored s o i l s ,  although mentioned a s  
a loca l  phenomenon i n  three individual county s o i l  survey repor ts ,  was not previously 
97 
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recognized a s  a continuous fea ture .  Early res idents  a l s o  apparent ly were unaware of the  
t r u e  extent  of t h i s  long, ribbon-like s t r e t c h  of dark-colored land, because they gave 
i t  l o c a l  names a t  d i f f e r e n t  places,  such as Round P r a i r i e ,  Cl inton P r a i r i e ,  Twelve Mile 
P r a i r i e ,  and Vinton P ra i r i e .  
I n  Figure 1 the  s t r e t c h  of dark-colored s o i l  is seen meandering through and bounded 
by t he  l i g h t e r  colored s o i l s  whfch a r e  predominant i n  t h i s  region. The p lo t  of re f lec-  
tance across  t he  dark s o i l  a rea  shows measureably lower re f lec tance  of t he  dark a rea  
(Figure 2). 
The dark-colored s o i l s  a r e  of t h e  Aquoll and Udoll suborders.  These s o i l s  have 
developed under grassland vegetation. The Aquolls represent  more poorly drained s o i l s  
than the  Udolls. The l i g h t e r  colored, surrounding land cons i s t s  pr imari ly  of Udalfs, 
s o i l s  developed under northern hardwood fo re s t s .  Pioneers found the  light-colored s o i l s  
dominant on t he  undulating t i l l  p l a in  t e r r a i n ,  which was heavi ly fores ted  with such 
deciduous t r e e s  a s  walnut, poplar,  hickory, beech and oak. Before a r t i f i c i a l  drainage 
and cu l t i va t i on ,  t he  l i n e a r ,  meandering s t r e t c h  of f l a t ,  dark-colored land was mostly 
poorly drained and vegetated with grasses ,  commonly "marsh grasses". 
The darkness of Udoll and Aquoll s o i l s ,  i n  cont ras t  t o  the  l i g h t e r  colored Udalfs, 
r e s u l t s  from a balance between addi t ions  of organic matter  t o  t h e i r  sur face  layer  and 
t he  r a t e  of decomposition. The equilibrium l eve l  f o r  organic matter  content and conse- 
quently darkness of co lor  t yp i ca l l y  is g rea t e r  i n  t he  sur face  l aye r s  of grassland s o i l s  
than i n  timbered s o i l s .  
Special ly  t ra ined  crews of s o i l  s c i e n t i s t s  have on two occasions mapped t he  a rea  i n  
d e t a i l  without recognizing t h a t  t he  dark-colored s o i l s  belong to a s i n g l e  l i n e a r ,  long, 
meandering s t r i p  of t e r r a i n  (Hurst and Grimes, 1914, Tharp e t  a l ,  1914, Ulrich e t  a l ,  1959). 
Had t h i s  f a c t  been discerned a t  t he  beginning of s o i l  survey work i n  t h i s  a r ea ,  t he  survey 
would have been expedited more quickly and e f f ec t i ve ly  acd cos t s  reduced. Geological 
f i e l d  s t ud i e s ,  using conventional surface mapping and subsurface ana lys i s  of water well 
records, had suggested a s  e a r l y  a s  1915 t h a t  a buried preg lac ia l  va l ley  might t r ave r se  
t he  area.  However, t he  synoptic view provided by MDSAT-1 imagery shows the  t r u e  extent  
and character  o f t h e  dark-colored s o i l ,  permits a more accura te  de f in i t i on  of t he  probable 
course and boundaries of t he  ancient  stream, and reveals  regional  re la t ionsh ips  which 
previously could only be surmised from extan t  data.  
The a rea  is located j u s t  a few miles e a s t  of the c l a s s i c  ea s t e rn  boundary of the 
P r a i r i e  Peninsula o r  P r a i r i e  Point  which extends from the  west i n t o  lands preuominantly 
covered by hardwood f o r e s t s  a t  the time of set t lement .  (Trewartha, 1968, Brochert, 
1950). The anomalous extension of grasslands i n to  an  a rea  where the  macroclimate fav- 
o r s  hardwood f o r e s t s  r e s u l t s  from the  f l a t  topography and fine-textured sur face  mater ial  
f i l l i n g  the  old va l ley .  These na tura l ly  poorly drained s o i l s  favor grasses  r a the r  than 
t r ee s .  
This buried va l ley ,  recent ly  named the  Clarks H i l l  Valley (Maarouf and Melhorn, 1974) 
on t he  ba s i s  of subsurface geological ana lys i s ,  is evident ly a major preg lac ia l  t r i bu t a ry  
of the Teays River system. This va l l ey  was apparently reoccupied and a t  l e a s t  pa r t l y  
reexcavsted by sur face  drainage during i n t e rg l ac i a l  times fol1ow:ng r e t r e a t  of the  Kansan 
and I l l i n o i a n  age Ice  invasions. Final f i l l i n g  of the  va l ley  occurred during r e t r e a t  of 
the  East White sublobe of t he  Wisconsinan s tage i c e .  This recession a l s o  produced a 
r a the r  f l a t  till p la in  surmounted by a few crevasse- f i l l  depos i t s  o r  kames. The old 
va l ley  may have remained s l i g h t l y  lower topographically even during r e t r e a t  of the Wiscon- 
s inan i ce ,  and fo r  a time may have provided i c e  border drainage t o  t he  newly-formed Wabash 
River below Lafayette.  With gradual cessa t ion  of meltwater flow, t he  l i n e a r  depression 
became a s e r i e s  of ponds o r  sloughs which i n f i l l e d  with l a cus t r i ne  s i l t s  and c lays  or 
co l l uv i a l  deposi ts .  This ev tn tua l ly  ra i sed  the old va l ley  f l oo r  leve l  nearly t o  t ha t  of 
the  ~ d j a c e n t  t e r r a i n .  The Udo3.1 and Aquoll s o i l s  seen on the  LANDSAT-1 imagery developed 
on these i n f i l l  mater ia l s .  
These differences i n  s o i l s  and t e r r a i n  of t he  va l ley  compared with the  surround- 
ing lands has a noticeable e f f e c t  today on farming prac t ices  and economic conditions. 
Figure 3 shows a farmetead i n  t he  va l ley  f i l l  a r ea  with t yp i ca l ly  new and abundant grain 
s torage equipment, whereas Figure 4 shows a typ ica l ly  modert farmstead i n  the  r o l l i n g  
t e r r a i n  and l i g h t e r  colored s o i l s  of the  till p l a in  which surrounds the  val ley.  
CONCLU$IONS 
The r e s u l t s  of t h i s  study suggest t ha t  elsewhere i n  the  g lac ia ted  p la ins  region of 
cent ra l  North America, machine c l a s s i f i c a t i o n  of s p e c t r a l  response from s o i l s  and vegeta- 
t i on  may have value i n  defining and t rac ing  s imi la r  buried va l leys  whose posi t ion is  
poorly known o r  whose presence is only suspected, The va l l eys  a r e  loca l ly  important sour- 
ces of groundwater and indus t r i a l  mineral deposi ts .  
LITERATURE CITED 
BROCHERT, J . !  1950, "The Climate of the  Central North America Grass Land". Ann. Assoc. 
American Geographers, 40; 1-39. 
HURST, L. A. qnd GRIMES, E. J., 1914, "Soil Survey of Tipton County, Indiana, USDA," (Ad- 
vanced Sheets - Field Operations of the  Bureau of So i l s ,  1912.) 
MAAROUF, A.M.S. and MELHORN, W. N., 1974, "Hydrology of Glacial  Deposition i n  Tippecanoe 
County, Indiana". Indiana Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey Paper. 
( In  Process). 
THARP, W.E., PEACOCK, R. H. and ROSE, C.M., 1914, "Soil Survey of Clinton County, Tn- 
diana, USDA", (Advanced Sheets - Field Operations of the  Bureau of So i l s ,  1912). 
Government Pr in t ing  Office, Washington, D.C. 
TREWARTiiA, G.T. 1968, "Classif icat ion of Climates and The World Pattern". pp 237-253. I n  
an Introduction t o  Climate". HcGrarHi l l  Book Co., New York. 
WLRICH, H.P. e t  a l ,  1959, S o i l  Survey of Tippecanoe County Indiana. USDA, SCS, Ser ies  
1940, no. 2 2 . ,  Government Pr in t ing  Office,  Washington, D.C. 
AcKNomEDGEMENT 
This research was conducted under NASA Contract NAS 9-14016 and NASA Grant NCL 
15-005-186. 

Figure 2. Relative Reflectance along 
north-south transect across buried 
Clarks Hill Valley. Reflectance is 
lower across the darker soil. 
Figure 3. Homesread on Aquoll soils on 
surface o f  buried Claxks Hill Valley 
reflects high soil product iv i ty .  
I 
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Delineation of the boundaries of a buried pre-glacial valley with LANDSAT-1 data

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