TY - GEN A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Ouimet, William A1 - Johnson, Katharine M. A1 - Dethier, David A1 - Raab, Alexandra T1 - Architecture of relict charcoal hearths in northwestern Connecticut, USA T2 - Geoarchaeology N2 - Relict charcoal hearths are round or elliptical earthen platforms up to 11 m in diameter and a widespread feature of historical industry that supplied charcoal used in the production of iron in furnaces or smelters. The iron industry dominated Litchfield County, Connecticut, and surrounding areas in the northeastUnited States throughout the 19th century, peaking in ∼1850. The large number of charcoal hearths in this region is a relic of >150 years of widespread iron production. In this study, we describe the architecture and soil stratigraphy of 26 charcoal hearths in Litchfield County. This contribution aims to (1) compare soils that comprise the charcoal hearths with “natural” adjacent soils, (2) measure the thickness of topsoil developed upon the hearths, and (3) characterize the stratigraphy associated with these features. Results indicate that the black topsoils overlying the charcoal hearths contain residual charcoal and are on average 2.6 times thicker than adjacentCambisols. Charcoal hearths display two ormore black, charcoal-rich strata separated by layers of reddish-brown soil low in charcoal content indicating multiple episodes of use.We also find that many charcoal hearths have been stabilized with boulders on the downslope side during construction and repeated use.Overall, the results presented here provide significant information regarding the construction, use, and associated impacts of earthen platforms for charcoal production in the northeastUnited States, with further relevance to other areas where historical charcoal production occurred. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21614 SN - 1520-6548 VL - 32 IS - 4 SP - 502 EP - 510 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Alexandra A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Ouimet, William A1 - Dethier, David ED - Schwab, Markus ED - Błaszkiewicz, Mirek ED - Raab, Thomas ED - Wilmking, Martin ED - Brauer, Achim T1 - Late Holocene biochar enrichment in soils ‐ implications of an anthropogenic legacy for ecosystems T2 - ICLEA Final Symposium 2017, Human Impact and Landscape Evolution in the Southern Baltic Lowlands, Abstract Volume & Excursion Guide Y1 - 2017 UR - http://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/escidoc:2215927 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2312/GFZ.b103-17037 SP - 79 EP - 81 PB - GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences CY - Potsdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Ouimet, William A1 - Dethier, David A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Alexandra T1 - Soils on Historic Charcoal Hearths: Terminology and Chemical Properties T2 - Soil Science Society of America, International Soils Meeting, Soils Across Latitudes, San Diego 2019 Y1 - 2019 UR - https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2019sssa/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/114844 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Ouimet, William A1 - Dethier, David A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Alexandra T1 - Soils on historic charcoal hearths - terminology and chemical properties T2 - Soil Science Society of America Journal : SSSAJ N2 - Historic charcoal hearth remains provide a unique archive of the long term interaction between biochar, soil development and plant growth. Charcoal as raw material was crucial for production of iron in iron works and hence numerous charcoal hearths can be found in the forests near historic iron works in Europe as well as the Eastern United States. Charcoal hearths are round to elliptical forms often around 10 m in diameter, and consist of several decimeter thick layers that contain charcoal fragments, ash, and burnt soil. We studied the soil chemistry of 24 charcoal hearths and compared them to the surrounding ‘natural’ soils in the northern Appalachians of northwestern Connecticut. The thickness of the topsoils on the charcoal hearths and their carbon content are remarkably higher than in the surrounding topsoils. The presence of residual products from charcoal production classifies the soils as Anthropic Udorthents (US Soil Taxonomy) or Spolic Technosols (Humic) according to the World Reference Base for Soil Resources. The widespread occurrence of charcoal hearth remains and their high spatial density in different ecosystems underlines their importance for further pedological research. KW - biochar KW - pedogenesis KW - land use KW - carbon sink Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2017.02.0067 SN - 1435-0661 SN - 0361-5995 VL - 81 IS - 6 SP - 1427 EP - 1435 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Ouimet, William A1 - Dethier, David A1 - Schneider, Anna A1 - Raab, Alexandra T1 - Soils on historic charcoal hearths – chemical properties and terminology T2 - European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2017, Vienna, Austria N2 - Charcoal hearths are a unique archive for the long term interaction between biochar, soil development and plant growth. Charcoal as raw material was crucial for the production of iron in iron works and hence numerous charcoal hearths can be found in the forests near historic iron works in Europe as well as the Eastern United States. Charcoal hearths are round to elliptical forms often around 10 m in diameter, and consisting of a several decimeter thick layer containing charcoal fragments, ash, and burnt soil. We studied the soil chemistry of 24 charcoal hearths and compared them to the surrounding ‘natural’ soils in Litchfield County, Connecticut. The thickness of the organic rich horizons on the charcoal hearths and their carbon content is remarkably higher than in the surrounding topsoils. The wide distribution of charcoal hearths, their usually high quantity, and their occurrence in different ecosystems underlines their importance for further pedological research. Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2017/EGU2017-4009-1.pdf N1 - EGU2017-4009-1 PB - European Geophysical Society CY - Katlenburg-Lindau ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Hirsch, Florian A1 - Ouimet, William A1 - Dethier, David T1 - Soil stratigraphy of charcoal kiln remains (CKR) in the Litchfield Hills, CT, USA T2 - European Geosciences Union, General Assembly 2016, Vienna, Austria N2 - Charcoal kiln relicts (CKRs) are small anthropogenic landforms that are often found in historic mining areas. CKRs have not been a big research topic yet but mainly were studied as by-products of archaeological excavations. In the last years newly available and very accurate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) based on high-resolution Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data have been used to identify these archaeological remains. In addition, findings of several thousands CKRs in the North German Lowland have increased the awareness that historical charcoal production may significantly contribute to Late Holocene landscape change. Besides the archaeological aspect of CKRs, potential impacts of charcoal burning on the ecology of modern soil landscapes and ecosystem processes must be considered. A relatively high density of CKRs is found in the Litchfield Hills nearby the town of West Cornwall, Litchfield County, CT, USA. The CKRs are especially well preserved on slopes of the tributary valleys of the Housatonic River and form little, circular ramparts with diameters normally less than ten meters. First, rough field surveys in Litchfield County in spring 2015 have suggested differences between soils inside and outside the CKR. Soils on the CKR seem to have relatively deep humus-rich and charcoal containing topsoils whereas the topsoils outside the CKR appear typically thinner and less rich in humus. More thorough investigations have been started in autumn 2015 to prove the hypothesis that properties, distribution and development of soils are controlled by archaeological remains of historical charcoal burning. We present preliminary results from our field studies conducted in October 2015. The stratigraphy and the extent of the 26 CKRs were studied using a sedimentological-pedological approach by coring and trenching. Our results indicate that in Litchfield County the CKRs were used twice and in quick succession. Before the second reuse, the rim of the platform was stabilized with boulders. The black topsoils on the CKRs contain residual charcoal and the topsoils are thicker compared to the soil sequences outside of the CKRs. Y1 - 2016 N1 - EGU2016-3477 PB - European Geophysical Society CY - Katlenburg-Lindau ER - TY - GEN A1 - Leopold, Matthias A1 - Dethier, David A1 - Völkel, Jörg A1 - Raab, Thomas A1 - Rikert, Tyler Corson A1 - Caine, Nel T1 - Using Geophysical Methods to Study the Shallow Subsurface of a Sensitive Alpine Environment, Niwat Ridge, Colorado Front Range, U.S.A. T2 - Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research Y1 - 2008 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(06-124)[LEOPOLD]2.0.CO;2 SN - 1938-4246 VL - 40 IS - 3 SP - 519 EP - 530 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Leopold, Matthias A1 - Dethier, David A1 - Völkel, Jörg A1 - Raab, Thomas T1 - Combining sediment analysis and seismic refraction to describe the structure, thickness and distribution of periglacial slope deposits at Niwot Ridge, Rocky Mountains Front Range, Colorado, USA T2 - Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Y1 - 2008 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/0372-8854/2008/0052S2-0077 VL - 52 IS - 2 SP - 77 EP - 94 ER -