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Soil aspects affecting archaeological details in aerial photographs
Author(s) -
Stanjek H.,
Faßbinder J. W. E.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
archaeological prospection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.785
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1099-0763
pISSN - 1075-2196
DOI - 10.1002/1099-0763(199506)2:2<91::aid-arp6140020205>3.0.co;2-y
Subject(s) - loess , soil water , geology , snow , evapotranspiration , bulk density , soil morphology , archaeology , aerial photography , soil science , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , physical geography , geography , soil classification , geomorphology , remote sensing , geotechnical engineering , ecology , biology
Archaeological details on aerial photographs become visible as crop, soil, or snow marks. For the occurrence of crop and snow marks, differences in bulk density are identified as the main soil factor, because bulk density determines the water balance and thermal behaviour. Bulk densities and pore size distributions were measured at different sites. Pore size distributions of archaeological structures in loess soils do not differ from surrounding B horizons, which explains the rareness of crop marks on loess soils. On gravel soils, however, changes from positive to negative crop marks were observed within a few weeks. They are explained by the interplay between plant available water, plant growth and evapotranspiration.