LOCATION MERMILL OH+IN

Established Series
Rev. RAR-RMG
09/2012

MERMILL SERIES

The Mermill series consists of very deep, very poorly drained soils on lake plains and till plains. They formed in loamy glaciolacustrine or water-sorted material 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) thick and in the underlying till. Slope ranges from 0 to 2 percent. Mean annual precipitation is about 864 mm (34 inches), and mean annual air temperature is about 11 degrees C (51 degrees F).

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Fine-loamy, mixed, active, mesic Mollic Epiaqualfs

TYPICAL PEDON: Mermill loam, on a slope of less than 1 percent in a cultivated field at an elevation of 228 meters (749 feet) above mean sea level. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated.)

Ap--0 to 23 cm (0 to 9 inches); very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) loam, grayish brown (10YR 5/2) dry; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure parting to moderate fine and medium granular; friable; common fine roots; 1 percent rock fragments; moderately acid; clear wavy boundary. [18 to 23 cm (7 to 9 inches) thick]

Btg1--23 to 36 cm (9 to 14 inches); gray (10YR 5/1) clay loam; weak fine and medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common faint gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; few distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) organic coatings on vertical faces of peds; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine and medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common fine and medium faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moderately cemented iron and manganese oxide concretions in the matrix; 1 percent rock fragments; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

Btg2--36 to 53 cm (14 to 21 inches); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; common distinct gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium faint gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and few fine and medium prominent strong brown (7.5YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common fine and medium distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moderately cemented iron and manganese oxide concretions in the matrix; 1 percent rock fragments; neutral; gradual wavy boundary.

Btg3--53 to 71 cm (21 to 28 inches); grayish brown (2.5Y 5/2) sandy clay loam; weak medium subangular blocky structure; friable; few fine roots; thin strata of fine sandy loam; common distinct gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; common medium faint gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common fine and medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) and common medium and coarse faint brown (10YR 5/3) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common fine and medium distinct very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moderately cemented iron and manganese oxide concretions in the matrix; 1 percent rock fragments; neutral; clear smooth boundary. [Combined thickness of the Bt horizon is 28 to 84 cm (11 to 33 inches).]

2Btg4--71 to 91 cm (28 to 36 inches); grayish brown (10YR 5/2) clay loam; moderate medium subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots; common faint gray (10YR 5/1) clay films on faces of peds; many medium and coarse distinct dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) and common fine and medium prominent yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; common fine and medium faint very dark grayish brown (10YR 3/2) moderately cemented iron and manganese oxide concretions in the matrix; few medium faint light gray (10YR 7/2) calcium carbonate concretions in the matrix; 5 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; slightly alkaline; gradual wavy boundary. [15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) thick]

2BC--91 to 145 cm (36 to 57 inches); dark yellowish brown (10YR 4/4) clay loam; weak medium and coarse subangular blocky structure; firm; few fine roots in the upper part; common distinct gray (10YR 5/1) coatings on faces of peds; common fine and medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions in the matrix; common medium and coarse distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation in the matrix; few medium distinct light gray (10YR 7/2) calcium carbonate concretions in the matrix; 5 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline; gradual irregular boundary. [8 to 56 cm (3 to 22 inches) thick]

2C--145 to 203 cm (57 to 80 inches); brown (10YR 4/3) clay loam; massive, with widely spaced vertical fractures; firm; few distinct gray (10YR 5/1) coatings on faces of fractures; common fine and medium distinct gray (10YR 5/1) iron depletions and few medium distinct yellowish brown (10YR 5/6) masses of iron accumulation oriented along fractures; 5 percent rock fragments; strongly effervescent; moderately alkaline.

TYPE LOCATION: Hancock County, Ohio; about 1.75 miles northeast of McComb, in Portage Township; 1,520 feet north and 2,180 feet east of the southwest corner of sec. 18, T. 2 N., R. 10 E.; USGS Hoytville, Ohio topographic quadrangle; lat. 41 degrees 07 minutes 41.8 seconds N. and long. 83 degrees 45 minutes 25.9 seconds W., NAD 27.

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Thickness of the solum: 61 to 152 cm (24 to 60 inches) and typically extends into the till
Depth to the base of the argillic horizon: 53 to 107 cm (21 to 42 inches)
Depth to carbonates: 61 to 127 cm (24 to 50 inches)
Depth to till: 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches)
Rock fragments: glacial pebbles, primarily of limestone, dolostone, and crystalline lithology

Ap horizon:
Hue: 10YR
Value: 2 or 3 (5 or less dry)
Chroma: 1 or 2
Texture: sandy clay loam, silt loam, loam, fine sandy loam, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

Some pedons have a BEg horizon.

Btg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 2
Texture: loam, sandy clay loam, or clay loam; some pedons have thin subhorizons of sandy clay to fine sandy loam
Rock fragment content: 0 to 10 percent
Reaction: moderately acid to neutral

2Btg, 2Bt, 2BCg, or 2BC horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y, or is neutral
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 0 to 4
Texture: clay, silty clay, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 42 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Reaction: neutral to moderately alkaline

2C or 2Cg horizon:
Hue: 10YR to 5Y
Value: 4 to 6
Chroma: 1 to 6
Texture: clay, silty clay, clay loam, or silty clay loam
Clay content: 27 to 42 percent
Rock fragment content: 1 to 10 percent
Reaction: slightly alkaline or moderately alkaline and carbonates are present

COMPETING SERIES: There are no other series in this family.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING: Mermill soils are on lake plains, and less commonly on till plains of late Wisconsinan age. They have a plane or concave surface with a slope gradient of 0 to 2 percent. The soils formed in 51 to 102 cm (20 to 40 inches) of loamy glaciolacustrine or water-sorted material and in the underlying till. Mean annual precipitation ranges from 686 to 1067 mm (27 to 42 inches). Mean annual air temperature ranges from 7 to 13 degrees C (45 to 55 degrees F). Frost-free period is 140 to 180 days. Elevation is 183 to 244 meters (600 to 800 feet) above mean sea level.

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Aurand, Haskins, Houcktown, and Rawson soils. These soils form a toposequence with Mermill soils. The somewhat poorly drained Aurand and Haskins soils are on slightly higher landscape positions. The moderately well drained Houcktown and the well drained Rawson soils are on higher or more sloping landscape positions.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY: Very poorly drained. The depth to the top of an intermittent perched high water table ranges from 30 cm (1 foot) above the surface to 30 cm (1 foot) below the surface between December and May in normal years. The potential for surface runoff is negligible or very low. Saturated hydraulic conductivity is moderately high in the loamy material and moderately low or low in the underlying till. Permeability is moderate in the loamy material and slow or very slow in the underlying till.

USE AND VEGETATION: Nearly all of the Mermill soils have been drained and are used for cropland. Principal crops are corn, soybeans, oats, wheat, alfalfa, tomatoes, and sugar beets. Native vegetation is deciduous swamp forest with swamp white oak, bur oak, pin oak, elm, hickory, and ash.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT: MLRA 99 in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana, and to a lesser extent in MLRAs 111B, 111C, and 139 in west-central Ohio and northern Indiana. The type location is in MLRA 99. The series is of large extent, over 130,000 acres.

MLRA SOIL SURVEY REGIONAL OFFICE (MO) RESPONSIBLE: AMHERST, MASSACHUSETTS

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Paulding County, Ohio, 1957.

REMARKS: Some acreage of the Mermill series is being converted to the Alvada and Aurand series during modernization projects. The previous Mermill series concept allowed for fine-textured lacustrine sediments in the 2B and 2C horizons. A new series will be established to address these soils during modernization projects in MLRA 99. An evaluation of existing lab data supports the redefinition of the clay content in the till.

Diagnostic horizons and features recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon: from the surface to a depth of 23 cm (Ap horizon).
Argillic horizon: from a depth of 23 to 91 cm (Btg, 2Btg horizons).
Aquic conditions: redox features in all horizons below a depth of 23 cm.

Representative data mapunit is DMU ID 130014 in MO 11.

National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.