LOCATION GALES FERRY             CT

Established Series
Revised CEP-BEF-DCP
02/2025

GALES FERRY SERIES

MLRA(s)--144A, 145
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage Class--Subaqueous
Water Depth Range--2 to 115 centimeters
Parent material--Fine-silty estuarine deposits
Geomorphic location--Tidal creeks, tidal rivers channels, and mainland coves
Slope range for series--0 to 1 percent
Mean annual air temperature--10 degrees C (50 degrees F)
Mean annual precipitation--1295 millimeters (51 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, mixed, superactive, nonacid, mesic Fluventic Sulfiwassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Gales Ferry silt loam on a northwest facing, linear, 1 percent slope in a tidal river under 1.5 meters of estuarine water. Tidal range is 24 centimeters. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted).

Aseg--0 to 12 centimeters; black (N 2.5/) silt loam; massive; very fluid; 2 percent herbaceous plant fibers; strong sulfurous odor; positive color change with 3 percent hydrogen peroxide; strong effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately saline; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); neutral (pH 7.3) oxidized pH; abrupt boundary. (Total thickness of Aseg horizons is 12 to 59 centimeters).

Cseg1--12 to 32 centimeters; very dark gray (5Y 3/1) silt loam; massive; very fluid; 3 percent herbaceous plant fibers; strong sulfurous odor; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately saline; slightly alkaline (pH 7.6); extremely acid (pH 3.7) oxidized pH; gradual boundary.

Cseg2--32 to 124 centimeters; very dark gray (5Y 3/1) silt loam; massive; very fluid; 1 percent herbaceous plant fibers; slight sulfurous odor; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately saline; neutral (pH 7.3); ultra acid (pH 3.2) oxidized pH; gradual boundary.

Cseg3--124 to 247 centimeters; very dark gray (5Y 3/1) silt loam; massive; moderately fluid; slight sulfurous odor; slight effervescence with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide; moderately saline; neutral (pH 7.3); extremely acid (pH 3.9) oxidized pH.

TYPE LOCATION: New Haven County, Connecticut; Branford River, approximately 270 meters (886 feet) southeast from the intersection of Maple Street and Harbor Street and approximately 623 meters (2044 feet) west southwest from the intersection of Indian Neck Avenue and Frank Street; USGS topographic quadrangle: Branford, CT.

Latitude--41.2707220
Longitude-- -72.8165390
Datum--WGS84
Coordinates source--from hand-held GPS

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 centimeters
Soil moisture--These soils are continuously inundated
Reaction throughout--Neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 6.9 to 7.8)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra acid to neutral (pH 3.1 to 7.0)
Electrical conductivity (EC 1:5 water), throughout--0.6 dS/m or greater
Depth to hypersulfidic materials (incubated pH 4.0 or less)--0 to 50 centimeters
Manner of failure / fluidity class--slightly fluid to very fluid
Shell fragments--0 to 15 percent, by volume
Coarse fragments--0 to 2 percent wood fragments by volume, throughout; 0 to 2 percent charcoal fragments by volume, throughout
Total Soil Organic Carbon Stock to 200 centimeters--39 to 62 kg m-2

Aseg or ACseg horizon
Hue--10Y or N
Value--2.5 or 3
Chroma--0 or 1
Texture--silt loam or mucky silt loam
Reaction--neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 7.2 to 7.8)
Organic carbon density--4 to 30 kg m-3

Cseg or Cg horizon
Hue--10Y, 10GY, or N
Value--2.5 to 4
Chroma--0 or 1
Texture--silt loam or silty clay loam
Reaction--neutral to slightly alkaline (pH 6.9 to 7.8)
Organic carbon density--0.4 to 24 kg m-3

COMPETING SERIES:
These are the Pishagqua soils.
Pishagqua soils--are found on lagoon bottoms and lagoon channels away from tidal rivers and protected areas.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Silty estuarine deposits
Landscape--Coastal estuaries
Landform--Low energy tidal creeks, tidal river channels, mainland coves
Slope--0 to 1 percent
Mean annual precipitation--1023 to 1320 millimeters (40 to 52 inches)
Mean annual air temperature--4 to 13 degrees C (39 to 55 degrees F)
Water salinity range--18 to 30 parts per thousand
Frost-free period--350 to 365 days

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
These are the Anguilla, Fort Neck, Napatree, Southpoint and Wequetequock soils.
Anguilla soils--are on submerged mainland beaches and have sandy textures throughout.
Fort Neck soils--have an n-value of 0.7 or less in some horizon at a depth between 20 and 50 centimeters below the mineral soil surface and do not contain organic soil materials
Napatree soils--are on submerged headlands and submerged mainland beaches, have sandy textures in the upper part and lack hypersulfidic materials
Pishagqua soils--are in low-energy lagoon bottoms, are not in tidal creeks or river channels, and do not have organic horizons
Southpoint soils--have slightly finer silt textures on similar landforms but are in Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain estuaries and lagoons
Wequetequock soils--have slightly coarser textures and do not have organic horizons within 100 cm of the soil surface.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Subaqueous
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high or high
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Soil is continuously inundated with salt or brackish water.

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Areas of this soil are used for recreational fishing and swimming. Commercial uses include shell fishing and aquaculture. Wildlife use and benthic fauna associated with this soil includes tubeworms, clams, juvenile blue crabs, scallops, and juvenile finfish.
Native vegetation--Eelgrass (Zostera marina) and widgeon grass (Ruppia maritima) may occur on these soils.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--These soils are located along the Connecticut coast.
Land Resource Regions--R - Northeastern Forage and Forest Region
MLRA(s)--144A, 145
Extent-Small

SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Special Projects Office

SERIES ESTABLISHED: New Haven County, Connecticut, 2024.

REMARKS: This subaqueous series is mapped in areas previously published as water in Connecticut Soil Survey publications.

Diagnostic horizons and features in this pedon include--
Peraquic feature--Positive soil water potential (permanently submerged) at the soil surface. (under 1.5 meters of salt or brackish water).
Particle-size control section--The zone from 0 to 100 centimeters (0 to 40 inches) is fine-silty.
Ochric epipedon--The zone from 0 to 12 centimeters (Aseg horizon).
Hypersulfidic materials--The zone from 12 to 247 centimeters (Cseg1, Cseg2, and Cseg3 horizons) have oxidized reactions with pH values less than 4 after 16 weeks.
N-value > 0.7--The zone from 0 to 200 centimeters (Aseg and Cseg horizons)
Taxonomic version--Keys to Soil Taxonomy, 13th edition (2022)

ADDITIONAL DATA: Type location taken from S2022CT009067 in Branford River, CT.
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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.