Tuesday, November 14, 2006
194-11
Utilizing SSURGO Data and GPS on Tablet PC's to Elucidate Geomorphology-Soil Relationships in the Glaciated Portions of Indiana.
Phillip Owens1, Darrell G. Schulze2, and George Van Scoyoc2. (1) Purdue Univ., 915 W. State St, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States of America, (2) Purdue University, 914 W State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States of America
Many glacial features occur on scales that are beyond the visible association of soils and geomorphic relationships. The relationships are best understood using multiple maps with a range of scales. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of tablet PC’s with multiple GIS layers to understand morphology and genesis of soils on glacial landscapes. A rugged Tablet PC was equipped with Arc GIS and a Garmin GPS unit. The data layers within Arc GIS included SSURGO, bedrock and surficial geology, DEM, roads, county boundaries and modified SSURGO data. The SSURGO data was modified to group similar classes which allow correlation of mapped soil to the five state factors of development. As an example, parent material maps of till, glacio-fluvial, eolian sand, outwash and residuum were created using SSURGO data to combine similar mapping units to single polygons. Tippecanoe County Indiana was chosen as the test location for the technology due to the variability of soils and geomorphology. This evaluation proved very useful for understanding soil and geomporphological relationships. These technologies could allow quick assessment when updating Order 2 soil surveys throughout the US .