LOCATION MUDDY CREEK MD
Established Series
BMW/DCS/RBT
04/2021
MUDDY CREEK SERIES
MLRA(s): 149A
Soil Survey Regional Office (SSRO) Responsible: Raleigh, North Carolina
Depth Class: Very deep
Drainage Class: Subaqueous (permanently submersed / continuously inundated)
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Low to moderately low
Parent Material: Fine-silty estuarine deposits over herbaceous organic material
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 57 degrees F. (14 degrees C)
Mean Annual Water Temperature: 57 degrees F. (14 degrees C)
TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-silty, glauconitic, nonacid, mesic Sulfic Hydrowassents
TYPICAL PEDON: Muddy Creek silt loam on a sheltered, east facing, submerged tidal marsh with less than 1 percent slope under 1.5 m of estuarine water. (Colors are for moist soil).
Ase -- 0 to 22 cm; very dark greenish gray (10Y 3/1) silt loam; massive; very fluid; 1 percent organic fragments; slightly alkaline (pH 7.7), very strongly acid (pH 5.0) after 16 weeks; color reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, strongly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, clear boundary.
Cseg1 -- 22 to 71 cm; very dark greenish gray (10Y 3/1) silty clay loam; massive; very fluid; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0), very strongly acid (pH 5.0) after 16 weeks; color reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, strongly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, gradual boundary.
Cseg2 -- 71 to 116 cm; dark greenish gray (10Y 4/1) silty clay loam; massive; very fluid; moderately alkaline (pH 8.0), ultra acid (pH 3.2) after 16 weeks; color reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, strongly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, abrupt boundary.
2Oaseb1 -- 116 to 162 cm; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) muck; very fluid; very strongly acid (pH 4.5), ultra acid (pH 3.0) after 16 weeks; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, non-effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide; slight hydrogen sulfide odor; 60% unrubbed fibers, 5% rubbed fibers; gradual boundary.
2Oaseb2 -- 162 to 195 cm; very dark brown (10YR 2/2) muck; very fluid; very strongly acid (pH 4.5), ultra acid (pH 3.0) after 16 weeks; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, non-effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide; slight hydrogen sulfide odor; 75% unrubbed fibers, 20% rubbed fibers; gradual boundary.
3Cseg -- 195 to 200 cm; dark greenish gray (10GY 4/1) sandy clay loam; massive; moderately fluid; very strongly acid (pH 4.5), ultra acid (pH 3.0) after 16 weeks; no color reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, slightly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide.
TYPE LOCATION: Anne Arundel County, Maryland; Fox Creek in Rhode River, approximately 2,347 feet southwest of Contees Wharf Road where it meets the Rhode River, and approximately 2,777 feet west northwest of Big Island. USGS South River topographic quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees, 53 minutes, 0.24 seconds N. and longitude 76 degrees, 32 minutes, 49.20 seconds W; WGS 1984; Major Land Resource Area 149A.
RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock: Greater than 200 centimeters
Depth to seasonal high water table: Permanently submersed
Shell Fragments: 0 to 5 percent, by volume, throughout
Soil reaction: Very strongly acid to moderately alkaline; oxidized reaction: very strongly acid to ultra acid
Depth to hyper-sulfidic materials (incubated pH 4.0): Between 50 and 100 centimeters
Depth to hypo-sulfidic materials: 0 to 50 centimeters
Manner of Failure / Fluidity Class: moderately to very fluid throughout
Salinity range is 7 to 15 (ppt).
RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZON CHARACTERISTS:
Ase horizon:
Color- hue of 10Y, value of 2.5 and 3, chroma of 1
Texture (fine earth fraction) - silt loam and silty clay
Consistence - moderately fluid and very fluid
Cseg horizons:
Color- hue of 10Y, value of 2.5 to 4, chroma of 1
Texture (fine earth fraction) - silty clay loam, silty clay, clay loam
Consistence - moderately fluid and very fluid
2Oaseb horizons:
Color- hue of 10YR to 5YR, value of 2 and 2.5, chroma of 1 and 2
Texture (fine earth fraction) - muck
3Cseg horizons (if present):
Color- hue of 5GY and 10GY, value of 4, chroma of 1
Texture (fine earth fraction) - sandy clay loam and clay loam
Consistence- moderately fluid and non-fluid
COMPETING SERIES: None.
GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Northern Coastal Plain estuaries
Landform: Submerged tidal marshes and estuarine tidal stream channels
Parent Material: Fine-silty estuarine deposits over herbaceous organic material
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 50 to 59 degrees F. (10 to 15 degrees C.)
Mean Annual Water Temperature: 52 to 58 degrees F. (11 to 14 degrees C.)
Water Depth Range: 0 to 5 feet (0 to 1.5 meters)
Water Regime: Tidal, 0 to 1 foot (0 to 0.3 meters) tidal range
Water Salinity Range: 7 to 15 ppt
GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Fox Creek soils - have organic soil materials greater than 40 centimeters thick near the soil surface and occur on submerged tidal marsh landforms.
Contees Wharf soils - occur on similar landforms but do not have buried organic horizons between 100 and 200 centimeters.
DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class: Subaqueous drainage
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately low to high
Soil Moisture Regime: Peraquic
Soil is permanently submerged / continuously inundated with brackish water. The presence of hypo-sulfidic materials within 50 cm of the soil surface puts these soils at risk for potential acid sulfate soil formation if they are dredged and exposed to the air.
USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Areas of this soil are used for recreational fishing and boating. Commercial uses include shell fishing and aquaculture.
Dominant Vegetation: Benthic fauna such as clams, blue crabs, and oysters are associated with this soil. Eelgrass (Zostera marina), sea lettuce (Ulva sp.), and horned pondweed (Zannichellia palustris) may occur on these soils.
SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (SSRO) RESPONSIBLE: Raleigh, North Carolina.
DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain sub-estuaries of the western portion of Chesapeake Bay. MLRA 149A. This series is of small extent.
SERIES ESTABLISHED: Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 2018.
REMARKS: This subaqueous series is named for Muddy Creek, which is a tributary to the Rhode River sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay. Areas of mapping were formerly included with water.
Diagnostic Horizons and other diagnostic soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric Epipedon-the zone from 0 to 22 centimeters (Ase horizon)
Peraquic feature-the zone from 0 to 200 centimeters which is permanently saturated
Sapric soil materials-the zone from 116 to 195 centimeters (2Oaseb1 and 2Oaseb2 horizons)
Hypo-sulfidic materials-the zone from 0 to 200 centimeters
Hyper-sulfidic materials-the zone from 71 to 200 centimeters, oxidized pH values less than 4.0 after 16 weeks.
Lithologic discontinuity-the zones from 116 to 195 (2Oaseb horizons) and 195 to 200 centimeters (3Cseg horizon)
ADDITIONAL DATA:
Data Map Unit ID: 800959
NASIS used site and pedon ID: 2015MD003047
National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.