The New York City Soil Survey Olga Vargas, USDA-NRCS Soil Scientist May 2018

New York City Soil Survey Program Since 1995

A partnership was established between: – NRCS – NYC-SWCD – Cornell University

To address the complexities of urban needs with a multi-faceted soil survey program.

The NYC Soil Survey Program

a) Soil mapping & survey-related studies/special projects

b) Onsite Investigations

c) Soils training, workshops, lectures, conferences; outreach

d) Volunteer & internship opportunities

NYC Survey Methods: Differentiating Criteria “Native” Soils in NDM

Naturally deposited materials (by ice, water, wind, etc.) Soils in HA-HTM Human-altered or human-transported mat’ls (fill) Miscellaneous Areas Urban land (sealed soils) Also Beaches, Rock outcrop, Dune land, etc.

1:12,000 field sheet Soil series: similar parent material, particle size & drainage class, sequence of horizons. We also differentiated HA-HTM soils by artifact type & content, and thickness of fill.

NYC Survey Methods: Inputs

Spatial data

• Topo maps & DEMs

• Geologic maps

Remote imagery

• Aerial photos

Field observations

Stereoscope & aerial photography

USGS NYC Folio; Merrill et al., 1902 Guide to parent material, substratum type

Geologic maps

USGS national Geologic Map Dataset (PDF, GeoTiff, JPG, KMZ) https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_2490.htm

NYC Survey Methods: Delineation

soil – landscape units reflect: Topography

Parent material

Land use / cover

Bunker Ponds Park, Staten Island

USDA-NRCS NYC Soil Surveys

acres scale msd

Central Park 843 1:4,800 0.3 acres

South Latourette Park 320 1:6,000 0.5 acres

Gateway Nat Rec Area 6,300 1:4,800 0.3 acres

Bronx River Watershed 6,900 1:6,000 0.5 acres

Reconnaissance 193,024 1:62,500 40.0 acres

City-Wide Initial 190,764 1:12,000 1.5 acres (Web Soil Survey available)

NYC initial soil survey

1:12,000 scale (1.5 acre MSD)

236 Map units

37 “Natural” soil series (4 est. in NYC)

29 HAHT soil series (27 est. in NYC)

• Clean fill – spolic (HAHT class)

• Dredge materials – dredgic

• Construction debris - artifactic

• Coal & fly ash – combustic

• Solid waste landfill - methanogenic

Urban land mapunits – 6 substratum phases (from USGS map)

Till Tidal marsh

Outwash Sandy

Alluvium Reclaimed

Bigapple series Dredge materials

NYC Citywide totals (USDA-NRCS Soil Survey)

% of land area

Urban land (sealed soils) 62.7 HAHT* (fill) Soils 27.6 “Native” Soils 8.6 Other Misc. Areas** 1.1 * Human-altered & human-transported **Rock outcrop, Beaches, etc.

Cross Bronx Expressway (NY Times photo)

NYC Pedodiversity Soil Type % of land area

Sealed soils 62.6

Clean fill 16.4

Artifactual fill 6.0

Dredge fill 2.9

Brown till 2.6

Red till 2.1

Tidal marsh 2.0

Landfill 1.6

Outwash 1.5

Sand dunes 0.3

Coal ash 0.1

Serpentine 0.1

USDA-NRCS Soil Survey of New York City - 2013

1:12,000 scale (“Official” data)

1.5 acre (0.6 ha) minimum size delineation

available on Web Soil Survey:

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/HomePage.htm

Create soil map & custom report for

“Area of Interest”

Download spatial & tabular data (by county/boro)

Web Soil Survey: Soil Data Explorer Soil Properties and Qualities “aggregate” data

• Soil Chemical Properties

• Soil Physical Properties

• Soil Erosion Factors

• Soil Qualities and Features

• Water Features

Greenbelt soil “clean” fill

Web Soil Survey: Soil Data Explorer Suitabilities and Limitations for Use

• Building Site Development • Construction Materials • Disaster Recovery Planning • Land Classifications • Land Management • Military Operations • Recreational Development • Sanitary Facilities • Vegetative Productivity • Waste Management • Water Management

Mosholu soil Coal combustion ash

NRCS survey-related projects & Lab Data, NYC

118 pedons sampled to date

Atmospheric inputs of trace metals in woodland soils

Manhattan trace metal/PAH background levels with Con-Edison

Infiltration & Land Use

Artifacts & trace metals

Citywide soil organic carbon stocks

Lab Data Mart: “point” data https://ncsslabdatamart.sc.egov.usda.gov/

• Particle size (USDA & Engineering)

• Bulk density

• Water retention

• pH & EC

• CEC

• Soil test analyses (extractions)

• Total elemental analysis (C, N, S, etc.)

• Trace metals

• Mineralogy

Laguardia soil construction debris

https://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soilweb-apps

NYC Soils available on: Soil Web Applications

http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/soil_web/kml/mapunits.kml

NYC Soils available on Google Earth:

• Geospatial Data Gateway Direct Download

• Gridded Soil Survey Geographic (gSSURGO) by State

• gSSURGO/SSURGO ArcTools (ArcGIS)

Create gSSURGO, download SSURGO and create interpretative soil maps; Soil Development Toolbox

Soil Data Viewer an extension to ArcMap that allows a user to create soil-based thematic maps

• Value Added Look UP Table Database • Soil organic Carbon

• Soil Data Access Query (SQL)

NYC Soils available in gSSURGO

Soil Systems of New York City

Landscape block diagram, Brown meltout till

Intro/Guide to NYC Soils Accompaniment to Web Soil Survey Info on parent materials, landscapes, properties (including lab data) of NYC soils Systems are distinct groups of soils or catenas produced by the interaction of geology, geomorphology, hydrology and climate. 34 total for NYC, including: Tidal soil system Red serpentine till system Brown till, meltout till subsystem Red sedimentary till, fragipan subsystem Deep fill, artifact subsystem Pavement system, brown till subsystem…

Soil Shops- NY, NJ & PA soil lead screening

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), NY Department of Health Brooklyn College Cornell Cooperative Extension Rutgers University USDA-NRCS

Albany, NY Utica, NY Newburgh, NY Staten Island, NY Camden, NJ Philadelphia, PA

Portable X-ray fluorescence environmental analyzer EPA Method 6200

How Healthy is your soil?

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