asgardeventide | 002 | [Text] (cut for length)

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002 | [Text] (cut for length)

Being a monograph on the various types of soils found in the city of Asgard and their sources.¹

The earth found in the city of Asgard consists of a small variety of soils ranging from silty clay to sandy loam across the usual spectrum.² Taking the average, one might classify it overall as a clay loam, not noticeably rich in iron, with a roughly equal distribution of organic soils to mineral. Divergences from the norm are primarily localised, and may thus be traced back to specific places.

Hel District: Characterized by somewhat silty soils with high ratio of identifiable organic components. Peds are flattened and layered, indicative of the current or former presence of tree cover, of medium coarseness and moderate cementation. The density is generally middle to low. Normal amount of artificial material (paper, etc.) mixed in, with concentration increasing near the carnival grounds. A sample of mud from this area may also contain traces of foods and other consumables particular to such environs. A mycological profile of the soil of this district, particularly

Heimdall District: Diverges little from the overall classification. Slightly more sandy than average. Primarily mineral. Some gravel. Peds are granular and coarse, with somewhat weak cementation. Dirt picked up on streets notable as in other areas with frequent foot traffic for containing particulate matter degraded from various synthetic or processed substances used in the creation of shoes. The concentration of these and of other materials of anthropic origin increases as one nears the bank, as is to be expected.³

Freyr District: Roughly indistinguishable from Heimdall district save in the proportions of its artificial contents and in the presence of fine, possibly quartzite gravel in low to middling proportions.

Freya District: Notable for patches of organic loams with crumb-type peds and comparatively high concentrations of vegetal matter, particularly that belonging to grasses of various types and a variety of flowering plants, both, as far as can be determined, perennial and annual. In the form of mud, this soil engages in only moderate cementation, resulting in a wet, only mostly cohesive, dark muck which flakes away as it dries, as opposed to the behaviour of soils with a higher clay content.⁴

Baldr District: The soils of the Baldr district are many and varied, but all distinct. Loamy soils as found in the Freya and Sigyn districts are present, these corresponding primarily to areas of the park involving horticulture. Further in, towards the woodland, one finds the soil to consist of platy peds of varying coursenesses with a high proportion of organic material corresponding to broken-down leaf litter. Soil insects can be found in high concentration, as expected in a forested area. Particularly notably, the larger, flatter peds appear primarily on the surface – old-growth forests produce significantly different samples; a stratified coating of mud bearing all of these characteristics likely came from Gefion Park. Additionally, one may, very occasionally, locate shed animal fur in a sample. If the fur corresponds to no known domesticated species, the observer may safely deduce that the soil or mud sample came from the Baldr district.

Odin District: The soils here are primarily dusty when dry, bearing high clay content compared to most other districts. When wet it forms a thick and sticky mud which dries hard and compact, light in colour.

Thor District: The soils of Thor district are roughly identical to those of Odin district save for the increased presence of larger stones (classified gravel here and elsewhere) amongst the rest. The overall colour of the clay-loam also bears slightly more of a reddish tint than that of Odin district, visually implying a somewhat higher iron content than that of the soils elsewhere in the city.

Loki District: The most intermediate of the city’s soils, falling closest to the average. Distinguishing features have to do with the particular types of organic and artificial materials a person or vehicle might potentially pick up while traversing this area of the city. In particular, the concentration of sand-like grains of glass is higher here than anywhere else, notable due to the absence of truly sandy soils anywhere in the city and more indicative of human presence than any geological process. The grains of glass tend to be a good deal larger than the soil peds found around them, and as such are easy to locate and identify.

Sigyn District: Soil type richer and slightly more silty than the average. Patches of soil similar to that found in the Freya district; again, the vegetal matter present in and on it is highly telling as to its source. Identification of that vegetal matter by species may in fact permit one to predict an individual’s path or previous location with a high degree of accuracy.

These are, of course, merely rudimentary layouts of the trends which have been noticed to run across the individual districts. A more detailed analysis is possible, indeed imperative, but would run far too long for an introductory document and so has been omitted for the time being.

SH

¹ The art of identifying soils is a subtle one, necessitating at very least the use of magnifying tools and suitable sampling containers, and at best a wide set of tools, including a modest collection of solvents, to be outlined in brief for the initiated later.

² A soil’s texture may be determined by visual observation with the aid of magnifying tools, but in a hurry or in the absence of said tools may be assessed via the following simple test: a pinch of soil may be taken, rubbed on the front teeth, and bitten to assess its graininess. With practice this permits one to identify with a high degree of accuracy the rough classification of various soil types.

³ The presence of artificial materials is as in any city further divisible by district, to do primarily with its residents, the style of its construction, and the goods and consumables available there. Classification of these would require an additional monograph. On the contrary side, one may often in part identify the type of industry and the class of residents found in a location by examining its mud.

⁴ A comparison with the soils found in the Sigyn district is enlightening. Modest horticultural enterprises exist in these districts, and the similarity of the soils suggests it has been artificially transported to suit the growing of plants to serve the districts’ particular needs.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Moran being Moran, of course, read the first bit

then said "sod it" and gave up. ]

Oh, good god, did you honestly just write me an entire page on soil? Who in their right mind can be bothered with this tommyrot?

Those with sufficient capacity for foresight to understand its applications. Not you, clearly.
SH

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