LOCATION RHODE RIVER             MD

Established Series
BMW/DCS/RBT
06/2021

RHODE RIVER 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: Moderately high to high
Parent Material: coarse-loamy estuarine deposits over glauconitic coarse-loamy fluviomarine deposits
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: Coarse-loamy, glauconitic, nonacid, mesic Aeric Fluviwassents

TYPICAL PEDON: Rhode River fine sandy loam on an east facing submerged wave-cut platform with a 1 percent slope under 0.2 m of estuarine water. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise stated).

Ase1 -- 0 to 10 cm; greenish black (10Y 2.5/1) fine sandy loam; single grain; slightly fluid; 1 percent shell fragments; slightly alkaline, not sulfidic materials; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, violently effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, clear boundary.

Ase2 -- 10 to 24 cm; greenish black (10Y 2.5/1) fine sandy loam; single grain; nonfluid; 1 percent shell fragments; slightly alkaline, not sulfidic materials; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, violently effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, clear boundary. (12 to 24 centimeters thick)

2Bseg -- 24 to 51 cm; dark gray (2.5Y 4/1) sandy loam; massive; nonfluid; 3% light olive brown (2.5Y 5/4) iron concentrations, 18% brownish yellow (10YR 6/8) iron concentrations; slightly alkaline, not sulfidic materials; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, strongly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, clear boundary.

2Bjg -- 51 to 76 cm; dark grayish brown (10YR 4/2) fine sandy loam; massive; nonfluid; 4% pale yellow (5Y 7/4) jarosite concentrations, 6% dark brown (7.5YR 3/3) iron concentrations; slightly alkaline, not sulfidic materials; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, very slightly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, abrupt boundary.

2Btj -- 76 to 123 cm; reddish brown (2.5YR 4/3) fine sandy loam; massive; nonfluid; 15% pale yellow (5Y 7/4) jarosite concentrations, 4% strong brown (7.5YR 5/8) iron concentrations; strongly acid, not sulfidic materials; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, very slightly effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide, abrupt boundary.

2Cseg -- 123 to 180 cm; black (2.5Y 2.5/1) loam; massive; nonfluid; strongly acid; no reaction with 3% hydrogen peroxide, violently effervescent with 30% hydrogen peroxide.

TYPE LOCATION: Anne Arundel County, Maryland; approximately 1,361 feet southwest of Locust Point and approximately 2,309 feet northwest of Sand Point in the Rhode River. USGS South River quadrangle; latitude 38 degrees, 52 minutes, 33.92 seconds N; longitude 76 degrees, 31 minutes, 33.22 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
Depth to Lithologic Discontinuity: 12 to 52 centimeters
Depth to hyper-sulfidic materials: greater than 100 centimeters (if present)
Depth to hypo-sulfidic materials: less than 100 centimeters
Manner of Failure / Fluidity Class: Nonfluid to slightly fluid throughout
Shell Fragments: 0 to 10 percent, by volume, throughout
Soil reaction: Strongly acid to moderately alkaline; oxidized reaction: Very strongly acid to slightly alkaline
Salinity: Between 7 to 15 ppt throughout the profile.

RANGE OF INDIVIDUAL HORIZONS:
Ase or A horizon:
Color- hue of 2.5Y to 5G, value of 2.5 and 3, chroma of 0 or 1
Texture (fine-earth fraction) - sand, loamy sand, loamy fine sand, fine sandy loam, or silt loam.

Cseg or CBseg horizon:
Color- hue of 10Y to 5G, value of 2.5, 3, 4, 7, chroma of 1
Texture (fine-earth fraction) - loamy sand, loamy coarse sand, fine sandy loam, silt loam, loam, sandy clay loam.

2Bseg or 2Btseg horizon:
Color- hue of 2.5Y to 10GY, value of 3 to 5, chroma of 1 or 2.
Texture (fine-earth fraction) - sandy loam, fine sandy loam, silt loam or sandy clay loam.

2Bjg or 2Btj horizon:
Color - hue of 5Y, 10Y, 5GY, 5G, or 5BG value of 3 to 5, chroma of 1 or 2.
Texture - loam, clay loam, or sandy clay loam.
Jarasite and iron concentrations are not always present in each soil profile.

2Cseg horizon:
Color - hue of 2.5Y or 5Y, value of 2.5 to 7, and chroma of 1 or 2.
Texture - loam, sandy loam, or fine sand.

COMPETING SERIES: None.

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Landscape: Coastal Plain sub-estuaries
Landform: Submerged wave-cut platforms, saddles, and shoals
Parent Material: Coarse-loamy estuarine deposits over glauconitic fluviomarine deposits (paleosols)
Slope: 0 to 3 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature: 52 to 59 degrees F. (11 to 15 degrees C.)
Mean Annual Water Temperature: 52 to 58 degrees F. (11 to 14 degrees C.)
Bathymetry: 0 to 300 centimeters below mean sea level
Water Regime: Tidal, 0 to 27 centimeter tidal range (0 to 1 foot)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS:
Contees Wharf soils-are fine-silty and do not have contact with pre-Holocene materials within 100 centimeters of the soil surface.
Dutchman Point soils-are sandy throughout and do not have contact with pre-Holocene materials within 100 centimeters of the soil surface.
Fox Creek soils-have thick organic soil horizons.
Sand Point soils-are sandy, have sulfidic materials within 100 cm of the soil surface and are on wave-built terraces and platforms.
Sellman soils-are fine textured also do not have contact with pre-Holocene materials within 100 centimeters of the soil surface.

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage Class: Subaqueous drainage
Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity: Moderately high to high
Soil Moisture Regime: Peraquic
Soil is permanently submerged with salt or brackish water with a range of 7 to 15 ppt

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major Uses: Most areas of this soil are used for recreational fishing, swimming, 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 Chesapeake Bay. MLRA 149A. This series is of small extent.

SERIES ESTABLISHED: Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 2018.

REMARKS: This subaqueous series is named for the Rhode River sub-estuary of Chesapeake Bay and were areas formerly included with water.

Diagnostic horizons and other diagnostic soil characteristics recognized in this pedon are:
Ochric epipedon-the zone from 0 to 24 centimeters (Ase1 and Ase2 horizons)
Peraquic feature-the zone from 0 to 180 centimeters is permanently saturated
Lithologic Discontinuity-pre-Holocene contact (Tertiary aged marine deposits of the Aquia and Nanjemoy formations), the zone from 24 to 180 centimeters (2Bseg, 2Bjg, 2Btj, and 2Cseg horizons)
Argillic Horizon-the zone from 76 to 123 centimeters (2Btj horizon) featured developed before permanent submergence

ADDITIONAL DATA:
NASIS Data Map Unit ID: 800960
NASIS OSD Site and Pedon ID: 2015MD003026

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.