Multivariate techniques were applied to 11 chemical and physical properties of soil samples collected along a prograded beach chronosequence, located on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The samples were taken from three horizons at each of seven sites. The 21 samples were considered as independent observations. Application of principal component analysis with a normal varimax rotation gave highly interpretable results. The first component was readily identified with podzolic pedogenic processes, whereas the second component appeared to relate closely to sea spray input. A nonlinear optimization procedure was used to fit the first principal component to an empirical equation incorporating a logistic term for time and an exponential term for depth. A correlation coefficient value of 0.99 was obtained. The notion of a pedogenic damping depth analagous to a thermal damping depth is suggested.

The surface charge characteristics of the B horizons of seven soils in a chronosequence developed on sandy beach material were studied. The soils range in age from 127 to 550 years and exhibit morphological and chemical characteristics ranging from Typic Udipsamment to Aquic Haplorthod. The difference between the zero point of charge (ZPC) and the pH of the soil decreased as the age of the soils increased, from a maximum value at the youngest site of 0.72 to a minimum value at the oldest site of 0.11. The decrease in this ΔpHzpc value is interpreted as indicating that the soils are approaching a steady‐state with time. The ΔpHzpc value is presented as a measure of pedogenic development.

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The use of the soxhlet apparatus has had limited success in its application to pedogenic weathering studies. Modified designs of the original soxhlet eliminated problems of sample inundation, erosion, and leachate contamination. The modifications, which utilized extraction thimbles, were made either by reducing the height (A) or completely removing (B) the siphon tube. B‐modified extractors increased Ca extractability of a soil material from the original 50 ppm to 210 ppm compared to an increase to 125 ppm in the unmodified apparatus. Use of a CO2 atmosphere in modification A caused rapid change in reaction of the material from the initial pH 5.1 to 4.5 compared to pH 6.1 in unmodified units. The use of these modified soxhlets showed promise in simulating pedogenic processes.