ABSTRACT
Micromorphological analysis may prove of considerable value in the future inter- pretation of periglacial soils and sediments. Soil fabric was defined by Brewer as the physical constitution of a soil material as expressed by the spatial arrangement of the solid particles and associated voids. Thawing of the ice-rich layer released silty meltwater onto the desiccated subsoil, producing silt droplets. Variations in soil moisture status at the onset of freezing and in the severity of winter cooling led to variation in the depth of silt droplet formation from year to year, so producing a layer of silt enrichment. Large, smooth-walled, bubble-like pores or vesicles have been reported from many arctic and alpine soils, particularly those in areas with patterned ground. Micromorphological study of the palaeosol often facilitates both assessment of the nature and degree of soil development prior to burial, and the possibility of truncation of the profile by surface erosion during or prior to burial.
