LOCATION WESTBROOK               CT+MA NH NJ NY

Established Series
Rev. MFF
01/2025

WESTBROOK SERIES

MLRA(s)--144A, 145, 149B
Depth class--Very deep
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Low to very high
Parent material--Herbaceous organic deposits over loamy marine or glaciofluvial deposits
Geomorphic location--Tidal marshes within estuaries, coastal lowlands, and tidal rivers
Slope range--0 to 1 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature--10 degrees C (50 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation--1143 millimeters (45 inches)

TAXONOMIC CLASS: Loamy, mixed, euic, mesic Terric Sulfihemists

TYPICAL PEDON: Westbrook mucky peat in a salt grass tidal marsh, undrained at an elevation of approximately 37 feet. (Colors are for moist soil unless otherwise noted.)

Oese1--0 to 25 centimeters (0 to 10 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) mucky peat; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; 65 percent fiber, 30 percent rubbed; H4 von Post humification; dense mat of roots, stems and leaves; many very fine; fine and medium roots; fibers herbaceous; thin lenses and coatings of silt; 45 percent organic matter; strongly saline (total salts 58 dS/m); slightly acid, extremely acid (pH 4.0) oxidized pH; clear wavy boundary. (12 to 30 centimeters, 5 to 12 inches thick)

Oese2--25 to 102 centimeters (0 to 40 inches); very dark gray (10YR 3/1) mucky peat; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; 50 percent fiber, 25 percent rubbed; H4 von Post humification; few very fine, fine, and medium roots; fibers herbaceous; thin lenses and coatings of silt; 44 percent organic matter; strongly saline (total salts 34 dS/m); moderately acid, very strongly acid (pH 4.5) oxidized pH; gradual wavy boundary. (20 to 100 centimeters (8 to 40 inches thick)

Oese3--102 to 122 centimeters (40 to 48 inches); dark olive gray (5Y 3/2) mucky peat; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; 35 percent fiber, 25 percent rubbed; H5 von Post humification; fibers herbaceous; 24 percent organic matter; strongly saline (total salts 36 dS/m); neutral, extremely acid (pH 3.8) oxidized pH; clear wavy boundary. (0 to 61 inches thick)

Cseg1--122 to 163 centimeters (48 to 64 inches); very dark gray (5Y 3/1) silt loam; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; massive; slightly sticky; 12 percent organic matter; strongly saline (total salts 28 dS/m); neutral, extremely acid (pH 4.0) oxidized pH; diffuse wavy boundary. (0 to 51 centimeters, 0 to 20 inches thick)

Cseg2--163 to 250 centimeters (64 to 99 inches); dark gray (N 4/) silt loam; dark gray (10YR 4/1) dry; massive; slightly sticky; 10 percent organic matter; 1 percent shell fragments; and very slightly saline to strongly saline; strongly saline (total salts 31 dS/m); slightly acid, ultra acid (pH 2.8) oxidized pH.

TYPE LOCATION: Middlesex County, Connecticut; town of Westbrook, approximately 275 meters south (186 degree bearing) of the intersection of Route 1 (Boston Post Road) and Hammock Road. USGS topographic quadrangle--Essex, CT

Latitude--41.2749448
Longitude-- -72.4712265
Datum--WGS84
Coordinate source--Unknown

RANGE IN CHARACTERISTICS:
Depth to bedrock--Greater than 200 ccentimeters
Thickness of organic deposits--40 to 130 centimeters
Soil Moisture--Wet; peraquic moisture regime
Reaction throughout--Strongly acid to slightly alkaline (pH 5.1 to 7.8)
Oxidized reaction--Ultra acid to very strongly acid (pH <3.5 to 5.0)
Depth to hypersulfidic materials (incubated pH 4.0 or less)--0 to 100 centimeters
Electrical conductivity (EC 1:5 water)--0 to 4.5 dS/m
Salt content throughout-5,000 to 35,000 parts per million
Mineral content--thin lenses of silt and very fine sand are common in organic horizons
Total Organic Carbon Stock 0 to 100 centimeters--29 to 53 kg m-2
Total Organic Carbon Stock 0 to 200 centimeters--57 to 76 kg m-2

The Surface Tier (Oese, Oe, Oase, Oise, or Oi horizons):
Hue--5YR to 5Y or neutral
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--0 to 3
Organic matter content--20 to 80 percent or more
Von Post humification scale--H2 to H7
Organic carbon density--31 to 66 kg m-3

The Subsurface Tier (Oese, Oe, Oise, Oi, Oase, or Oa horizons):
Hue--5YR to 5Y or neutral
Value--2 to 5
Chroma--0 to 3
Organic matter content--20 to 90 percent generally decreasing with depth
Von Post humification scale--H3 to H9
Organic carbon density--32 to 58 kg m-3

C horizons:
Hue--10YR to 5BG or neutral
Value--2 to 7
Chroma--0 to 2
Texture--typically silt, silt loam, or very fine sandy loam; range includes sandy loam to silty clay
Organic matter content--5 to 20 percent
Organic carbon density--15 to 35 kg m-3
Shell fragments and herbaceous fibers are common

COMPETING SERIES:
These are Honga and Mispillon soils.
Honga soils--formed in herbaceous organic materials overlying nonfluid fluviomarine deposits; the underlying mineral material is typically intact and includes an argillic horizon these soils formed on submerged tidal marshes in the Northern Coastal Plain (MLRA 149A) and Northern Tidewater Area (MLRA 153D).
Mispillon soils--formed in herbaceous organic materials overlying fluid fluviomarine materials; they are found on submerged tidal marshes in the Northern Coastal Plain (MLRA 149A) and Northern Tidewater Area (MLRA 153D).

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING:
Parent material--Herbaceous organic material overlying loamy marine or glaciofluvial deposits
Landscape--Estuaries, coastal lowlands, and tidal rivers
Landforms--Tidal marshes
Elevation--0 to 1 meter
Slope--0 to 2 percent
Mean Annual Air Temperature--7 to 13 degrees C (45 to 55 degrees F)
Mean Annual Precipitation--1000 to 1270 millimeters (40 to 50 inches)

GEOGRAPHICALLY ASSOCIATED SOILS: These are the Ipswich, Matunuck, and Pawcatuck soils in nearby tidal marsh areas.
Ipswich soils--formed in thick organic deposits greater than 130 centimeters dominated by hemic materials
Matunuck soils--formed in sandy marine or glaciofluvial deposits underlying a histic epipedon
Pawcatuck soils--formed in organic deposits dominated by hemic materials with a thickness between 40 and 130 centimeters overlying sandy mineral materials

DRAINAGE AND SATURATED HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY:
Drainage class--Very poorly drained
Saturated hydraulic conductivity--Moderately high to very high in organic horizons and low to high in underlying mineral horizons
Soil moisture regime--Peraquic
Flooding frequency--subject to tidal flooding twice daily except in areas protected by embankments and tide gates

USE AND VEGETATION:
Major uses--Most areas are in salt marsh and provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and wildfowl.
Vegetation--The most common grasses are salt meadowgrass, salt water grass and spike grass. Other vegetation includes blackgrass, sea lavender, saltwort, seaside goldenrod, aster, and purple gerardi. In areas where the 1:5 EC by volume is below 1.5 dS/m, vegetation consists principally of tall reeds and sedges.

DISTRIBUTION AND EXTENT:
General area--coastal areas and tidal zones in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York
Land Resource Region(s)--R - Northeastern Forage and Forest Region; S - Northern Atlantic Slope Diversified Farming Region; T - Atlantic and Gulf Coast Lowland Forest and Crop Region
MLRA(s)--144A, 145, and 149B,
Extent--Moderate

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

SERIES ESTABLISHED: New Haven County, Connecticut, 1976.

REMARKS: Westbrook soils were formerly mapped as Tidal marsh, undifferentiated. Some of the Westbrook soils are classified and mapped at the great group or subgroup level. Westbrook series was originally described as consisting of fibric organic materials. Current procedures for estimating fibers indicate that the materials are dominantly hemic. These soils become extremely acid when drained.

Diagnostic features and characteristics recognized in this pedon include:

Histic epipedon--the zone from 0 to 40 centimeters (Oese1 and Oese2 horizons).
Hemic material--the zone from 0 to 122 centimeters has rubbed fiber content between 16 to 40 percent (Oese1, Oese2, and Oese3 horizons).
Sulfihemists great group--sulfidic materials within a depth of 100 centimeters. New pedons should include incubation pH measurements and or odor to determine if horizons should receive a 'se' subordinate distinction due to sulfate content.
Loamy particle size class--mineral layer of silt loam 130 centimeters thick within the control section, from 122 to 250 centimeters (48 to 99 inches) (Cseg1 and Cseg2 horizons)
Reaction (pH value)--more than 4.5 throughout the control section.

ADDITIONAL DATA: Type location taken from pedon 2008CT007001 near Meneketesuck River in Westbrook, CT.
Additional support pedons used to develop this series include S2008CT011002, S2023CT001205, S2023CT001212, S2023CT001225, S2023CT001230, S2023CT001240, S2023CT009318, and S2023CT009326

Refer to publication "Tidal Marshes of Connecticut and Rhode Island," Hill, D. E. and Shearin, A. E., Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 709, Feb. 1970.

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National Cooperative Soil Survey
U.S.A.