Differential thermal analysis: a means of identifying soil samples from Barbados, Trinidad, Tobago, St. Vincent, Jamaica and Guyana

Thermo-analytical curves over the temperature range 50–1000°C were obtained for 66 soil types of which 37 were from Barbados, 15 from Trinidad, five from Tobago, five from St. Vincent, three from Jamaica, and one from Guyana. Endothermic and exothermic peak areas under these curves were determined and used as the basis of a system derived for identifying soil types. In this system curves for different soil types were unique with respect to occurrence of endothermic and exothermic peaks and the magnitude of their corresponding peak areas. On re-examination of a selected number of soil samples after 18 months storage, each soil showed the same number of peaks at the same temperature but with altered intensities and in most cases a reduction in peak size, changes consistent with desiccation and spontaneous decomposition.