My research interests are focused on understanding how weathering contributes to soil production and shapes Earth’s landscapes, both through chemical and physical processes. I am especially interested in interactions occurring within the Critical Zone, which encompasses everything from the top of the tree canopy to aquifers beneath the Earth’s surface and supports most terrestrial life on Earth. As the central constituent of this zone, soil serves as an interface between gas and water exchange and plays a major role in nutrient cycling that supports ecosystems and humans alike. The rate and mechanisms by which rock weathers to form soil is not well quantified and this lack of knowledge complicates predictions of the availability of soil to provide food for Earth’s growing population. I aim to better understand rates and mechanisms of weathering to help predict how these soil resources and landscapes might change in the future.
Research interests:
Weathering, land use change, soil geochemistry, pedology, global climate change, soil erosion, soil nutrient cycling,
geomorphology, water-rock interactions, reclamation, pygmy mammoths
Below is a systems diagram of how I think about my research interests. There are two main lines to my research:
1) fundamental controls on soil formation and processes and 2) how humans impact soils. There are numerous questions of interest that fall under these two main categories, including the balance between soil production and erosion, how soil forming factors control production rates, the impact of land use change on soils, the role of amendments in restoring degraded soil and how we can better measure and sample soils to answer these questions. Ultimately, the goal of my research is to help predict how soils will change in the future and how we can better manage our soil resources.
Research interests:
Weathering, land use change, soil geochemistry, pedology, global climate change, soil erosion, soil nutrient cycling,
geomorphology, water-rock interactions, reclamation, pygmy mammoths
Below is a systems diagram of how I think about my research interests. There are two main lines to my research:
1) fundamental controls on soil formation and processes and 2) how humans impact soils. There are numerous questions of interest that fall under these two main categories, including the balance between soil production and erosion, how soil forming factors control production rates, the impact of land use change on soils, the role of amendments in restoring degraded soil and how we can better measure and sample soils to answer these questions. Ultimately, the goal of my research is to help predict how soils will change in the future and how we can better manage our soil resources.
I traveled to Belo Horizonte, Brazil at the beginning of May 2014 to investigate shale weathering on the other half of the globe. I was accompanied by two CarbonEARTH teachers, 4th grade teacher Laura Warner and 7th/8th grade teacher Randy Edelman. We established new collaborations with Brazilian elementary and middle schools as well as geologists at UFMG. In addition, we sampled a shale weathering profile over 40 m deep! The people we met were incredibly kind to show us around and explain their perspectives on geology and education in this country. I hope to return in the near future!