INQUA Project RAISIN:

The project RAISIN has four major objectives:

1. Reviewing and compiling existing studies

The first objective is to provide thoroughly reviewed and checked knowledge on directions and rates of soil forming processes in different climates. This knowledge can be used in future palaeo-environmental reconstructions to obtain the best possible information from paleopedological records in Quaternary sediment-soil successions. This first objective will be achieved through reviewing, discussing and combining the numerous existing data on soil development with time by a group of experts in this field collaborating in RAISIN. In the past decades significant progress has been achieved in evaluating the rates by which soil forming processes proceed, using mostly surface and buried soil chronosequences. These available datasets form the base to utilize paleosols as chronometers of the duration of periods of land surface stability.

2. Defining soil properties indicative of progressive soil development and standardized methods

The second objective is to define soil properties that are most closely linked to soil age and are recommended to be used for estimating time-spans of soil development. Standardized field and laboratory methods that are useful for assessing the stage of soil development will be recommended as well. A standard and minimum set of field and laboratory analyses to be performed on soil chronosequences and paleosols will be defined to ensure that new studies will be carried out in a way that permits for comparison of newly produced with existing data to achieve the best possible overall scientific progress.

3. Identifying knowledge gaps

The third objective is to identify gaps in our present knowledge. Based on the identified gaps, recommendations will be given in terms of special foci (by topic and region) suggested for future research.

4. Establishing a network and stimulating new research

The fourth objective is to bring experts with various background and experiences in studying soil development with time in different regions of the world together and to stimulate the development of future projects. Up to now, studies on soil formation rates and well-analyzed sediment-paleosol sequences in tropical climates are rare, particularly in developing countries. Involving colleagues from these countries will help to identify existing knowledge gaps and suitable objects for future research especially in these countries and will stimulate the development of future collaborative projects that could significantly improve the world-wide coverage of paleopedological knowledge.