Photos!!
Forested foothills of the Troodos Massif, Cyprus, in the distance above famously red soils in the Mesaoria plain. This red dirt contains traces of anthropogenic activity ranging from ~10,000 years ago to present (stone axes, copper slag, medieval pottery, 1970s era artillery, etc). Dig down, and calcic horizons developed in gravelly alluvium are one indicator of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate history. (Photo by Chris Parks, courtesy of the Troodos Archaeological and Environmental Survey Project)
Soil Science for me first got serious here, in the forests of the Troodos. The question was: were the soils thin to absent because of climate and tectonics? Or because of timber harvesting? (Cypriot timber fueled the furnaces of the world's copper industry for centuries, and also helped build ships for Anthony & Cleopatra.)
At Mormon Mesa, Nevada, the questions were: is this soil-geomorphic surface really 4 million years old? Can it be isotopically dated? And, do any of the unique minerals found in this petrocalcic soil profile provide an isotopic record of climate change across the Quaternary? What in the world are pedogenic ooids? (Photo by Caroline Sauvage)
Clark County, NV. To protect the rare Las Vegas buckwheat, it's important to determine why it grows only in some gypsum-rich soils, but not in others that, by all outward appearances, are identical to the inhabited areas. This is just another fascinating species we know little about, but are close to wiping out of existence (in this case: via urban development and ATV use).
Sampling soils for C and N analysis in 2013. In California, Sage Scrub communities (L) have been reduced to just 10% of their original range, due to development, agricultural land conversion, and invasive species (e.g., grasses, R). Studying carbon and nitrogen storage at the Robert J. Bernard Biological Field Station in Claremont, CA, is just one way to help preserve the precious few remaining fragments of this important ecological community.
Poor picture of ~2.1 billion year old banded iron formation (BIF!) from northern MN. This is one of several deposits that fueled the U.S. steel industry in the early years. Some of the ore processing facilities on the Lake Superior shore were shuttered due to the purported content of asbestiform minerals in waste tailings. Bottom line: geologic history --> pretty rock --> modern economy --> human & environmental health.
Brilliant students make everything better. On the Mesabi Iron Range with my last Physical Geology crew (Macalester College), Fall 2011. Truck for scale. (Photo by Jeff Thole)
"Soils and Society" (EA 103) students describe a soil profile at the Pomona College Organic Farm in 2016 (L) and another at the Claremont Hills Wilderness Park (R, 2013).
Paleosol samples being prepared for X-ray Fluorescence Analysis in summer 2016 - here, freezing back down to room temperature after fusion at 1,000 degrees C.
Environmental Change at work at Dhidoo Island, Maldives (2009): early construction from coral (upper right), then (after environmental legislation) concrete (upper left and below). Soils are sandy and thin across this Indian Ocean atoll, so gardening takes advantages of many types of containers. Here, styrofoam is forever, coral reefs and soil, not so much. The Maldives are also threatened by sea-level rise.
The Claremont Hills Wilderness Park loop (2023) and adjacent trails (Johnson's Pasture, Gale Canyon, and Pomello roads are all visible here) provide a meandering slice through the geology and ecology of the San Gabriel Mountains foothills.Â
Fires, earthquakes, and landslides all shape (note: actively!) the geomorphology and ecology of this area of my "backyard". This is one of my favorite playgrounds to hike, bike, and wander but its hazards are not to be taken lightly.