SOILS OF SOME NORSE SETTLEMENTS IN SOUTHWESTERN GREENLAND

Soils of some former Norse settlements in southwestern Greenland were investigated and found to have well-developed, brightly coloured soil profiles in spite of the high latitude. The soils are generally acidic , sandy, strongly organic and high in exchange cations. Iron extractio n data suggest a moderate degree of pedologic activity. The presence o f smectite and interstratified hydroxy-aluminum vermiculite is likely representative of an early stage of neomineral formation in an area wh ich has probably been ice-free for at least 8000 years. In the areas v isited, there was no evidence in the soil to suggest that extensive so il erosion was responsible for the abandonment of these settlements.