Reading the Soil Archives

Jan van Mourik has published extensively on the topic of soils as a record of the past, including serving as Guest Editor for the Quaternary International special issue, “Soils as a Record of the Past.” Professor Jaap JM van der Meer , MSc, PhD is Professor emeritus of Physical Geography at Queen Mary, University of London. He obtained a BSc, MSc and PhD at the University of Amsterdam where he was a Senior Lecturer until 2000, when he moved to London. He retired in 2011.Glacial processes and resulting landforms and sediments were the focus of his research. On the general level he studied sediment transfer and (temporal) storage in the glacial system: from the ice divide to the shelf edge. More specifically, there are two clear elements in his studies: the first one is the study of glacial sediments especially in thin sections and the second one is the study of dynamic structures, e.g. push moraines or drumlins. His research is embedded in an international network, encompassing collaboration with colleagues from Western European, North and South American countries and Australia and New Zealand and fieldwork ranging from the Arctic to the Antarctic. He set up the Centre for Micromorphology University of London, internationally a unique research facility to study glacial sediments at all microscales.

1. Soil pollen analysis: Pollen infiltration and conservation in soils 2. Soil micromorphology 3. Radiocarbon dating of soil organic carbon 4. OSL dating of sand 5. Phytolith analysis 6. Biomarkers of palaeosols 7. Archaeometrical analysis of palaeosols 8. A case study of the reconstruction of the development of the cultural landscape in the SE-Netherlands, based on the analysis of soil archives