The Pennsylvania Association of Professional Soil Scientists is planning a two day field trip to view soils of Southeastern PA. These are the same field sites of the 2017 NE Pedology Field Trip that the students from universities in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast will visit this year. Many of the sites have been sampled by the USDA-NRCS with lab data available from Lincoln. Day one will be the non-glaciated soils of the Piedmont. Day two will be the glaciated soils of the Ridge and Valley and the Appalachian Plateau.  A bus will be provided for transportation. The trip will start and return to the Quakertown area.
Attendees must make their own motel reservations. The Quality Inn at 1905 John Fries Hwy Quakertown, PA 18951 (215) 538-3000 or at the Hampton Inn at 1915 John Fries Hwy Quakertown, PA 18951 (215) 536-7779 has the best rates. The best rates are on line for these places using Trivago.com; Priceline.com or Hotels.com. Please book early as the Friday night date fills fast. There are two other motels at this area. They are the Holiday Inn Express and The Spring Hill Suites. Their rates are significantly higher.
Friday, June 16, 2017Â Â The Piedmont of SE PA: soil series Chrome-Chester-Gladstone-Gibraltar
8:00 A.M. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Registration check-in rear parking lot of the Quality Inn.
8:30 A.M.               Bus will depart the Quality Inn parking lot
8:30 to 9:30       Travel to site #1.  Overview of the soils and geology for day one
9:30 to 10:30 Â Â Â Â Â Site # 1 Serpentine Barrens of Chester Co Chrome soil series
10:30 to 11:00 Â Â Â Â Travel to Site # 2 the Stroud Research Facility
11:00 to 2:00 Â Â Â Â Â Site # 2 Tour of the Facility and their research sites. Gladstone soil series – Lunch to be provided
2:00 to 2:30 Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel to site # 3 A large volume waste water facility.
2:30 to 3:30 Â Â Â Â Â Â Site # 3 A tour of a large volume waste water facility using land application via drip and spray irrigation. Chester soil series
3:30 to 4:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel to site # 4 Anthracite alluvium
4:00 to 5:00       Amity Township Park. Presentation by Matt Ricker; PhD of Bloomsburg University regarding anthracite alluvium. The Gibraltar series
5:30 to 6:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel to the motel
7:00 to 9:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Dinner to be provided by PAPSS
Saturday, June 17, 2017Â Â Â Glaciated portions of the Ridge and Valley and the Appalachian Plateau
Soil series: Washington-Berks-Buchannan- Swartswood-Wellsboro
7:00 to 7:30 AM     Optional trip to a road cut near the motels exposing a diabase intrusion with contact metamorphic hornfels (red shale burnt gray by the igneous intrusion). Meet at the rear parking lot of the Quality Inn. Car pool transportation.
8:00 A.M. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Bus departs from the parking lot of the Quality Inn
8:00 to 8:30Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel time to site # 5 Overview of the soils and geology for day two
8:30 to 9:30            Site # 5 Pre-Wisconsin Till over carbonate. Washington Series
9:30 to 10:00Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel time to site # 6
10:00 to 11:00     Site # 6  Frost churn shale periglacial features.  Berks Series
11:00 to 11:30 Â Â Â Â Â Travel Time to site # 7
11:30 to 1:30 Â Â Â Â Â Â Site # 7Â Â Jacobsburg State Park: Lunch to be provided – Mountain colluvium over pre-Wisconsin till over shale residuum
1:30 to 2:00Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel Time to site # 8
2:00 to 3:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Site # 8 Wisconsin Till in the Ridge and Valley Swartswood series or Wisconsin Till in the Appalachian Plateau. Wellsboro Series
3:00 to 4:00 Â Â Â Â Â Â Travel time to motels in Quakertown
NOTE: the above schedule and site locations are subject to change.
You can register and pay online or download and mail the form and payment.