Soils’ Impacts on Climate Change and Global Warming

Scientist documents melting Siberian permafrost

The Olympian, May 5, 2008

"...In a country where many scientists scoff at the existence of global warming, Zimov has been waging a lonely campaign to warn the world about Russia’s melting permafrost and its nexus with climate change. His laboratory is the vast expanse of tundra and larch forest along the East Siberian Sea, an icy corner of the world that Zimov has scrutinized almost entirely on his own for 28 years..."

 

Global warming could accelerate from thawing Siberian permafrost

Physorg.com, June 16, 2006

Permafrost soil blanketing northeastern Siberia contains about 75 times more carbon than is released by burning fossil fuels each year. That means it could become a potent, likely unstoppable contributor to global climate change if it continues to thaw. So conclude three scientists in a paper in the journal Science.

 

Protecting Puget Sound

Failing our sound

The Settle Times, May 14, 2008

"...The Sound is by no means dead. By some measures it's cleaner and healthier than it was 30 years ago. Yet that progress is at risk because we're still betraying Puget Sound with the choices we make about developing the land. It's not because people are breaking the rules. The rules are simply inadequate for the task at hand. .."

 

The painful cost of booming growth

The Settle Times, May 14, 2008

"...It happens one creek at a time as bulldozers and pavement disrupt the natural flow of water through the ecosystem, destroying habitat and sending billions of gallons of polluted runoff into the Sound...."

 

Saving wetlands: a broken promise

The Settle Times, May 12, 2008

"...This year, even as Gov. Christine Gregoire, the newly formed Puget Sound Partnership and teams of scientists all work to protect and restore Puget Sound, the management of wetlands in Washington remains in disarray..."

 

About soil science and stormwater

The science of dirt: Business tests soil for septic tanks

Fayetteville Observer, April 9, 2008

"...Mike Eaker, owner of Southeastern Soil and Environmental Associates Inc., said soil tests are important to find out if land can support a septic system. People should conduct a test prior to purchasing property, he said...Eaker stays backed up with appointments for weeks at a time. He’s one of the few, if only, licensed soil scientists in private practice from this area, according to a roster of active members on the North Carolina Board for Licensing of Soil Scientists..."

The lowdown on topsoil: It's disappearing

Seattle PI, January 22, 2008

"While many worry about the potential consequences of atmospheric warming, a few experts are trying to call attention to another global crisis quietly taking place under our feet...Disappearing dirt rivals global warming as an environmental threat."

Problem Solving in Stormwater Bioretention: Pitfalls in bioretention systems and how to avoid them

By Barrett Kays

Soil Scientist innovations for containing stormwater runoff and transforming what was waste water into an asset by recharging groundwater reservoirs.

Watering park may taint lake: Officials urge care to avoid runoff at Heritage Park  

The Olympian, October 6, 2006

"...Using highly treated wastewater to irrigate Heritage Park will require great care to avoid adding more nutrients to nutrient-rich Capitol Lake..."

From runoff to rain gardens: A new way to aid Puget Sound

The Olympian, August 31, 2006

A classic application of a soil science problem with a soil science solution that typically requires soil sampling and assessment to evaluate the soil's capability to absorb, treat, and store water. Sampling to characterize the soil capability allows us to develop a specific application prescription for that site and design a supporting program with fertilization and irrigation that will not overwhelm the background soil capacity. 

Magazine articles

Methane belches in lakes supercharge global warming

National Geographic, September 6, 2006

"...Global warming is causing Siberian lakes to bubble methane, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere at an alarming rate, scientists say..."

 

Thawing permafrost could supercharge warming

National Geographic, June 15, 2006

"...Thawing permafrost in the Arctic could play a role in fueling global warming, scientists in Russia and the United States report..."

 

Conference report: breaking news from the world of geology

Discover Magazine, November 13, 2003

"...Geologist Gregory Retallack of the University of Oregon studied the soils around 40 ancient temple sites and concluded that the classical Greek gods and goddesses arose, quite literally, from the earth. He found a striking correspondence between the type of soil where a particular deity was worshipped and the personality or attributes of that god..."

 

China's dust storms raise fears of impending catastrophe

National Geographic, June 1, 2001

"...China has mounted various efforts to halt the increasing desertification, which is caused by overuse of the land for farming and grazing. Nonetheless, as much as 900 square miles (2,300 square kilometers) of farmland in northern China—an area more than twice the size of Hong Kong—is blown away by the wind each year, according to a Chinese scientist quoted in a New York Times article last year..."

 

Ancient Fertile Crescent almost gone, satellite images show

National Geographic, May 18, 2001

"...The rich Mesopotamian marshlands known for centuries as the Fertile Crescent have almost completely disappeared, with only 10 percent of the important ecosystem still remaining, according to a study based on satellite images of the region..."

Streams reduce nitrogen pollution

National Geographic, May 4, 2001

Nitrogen pollution in streams due to poor soil management.