In earth science, erosion is the action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distinct from weathering which involves no movement. Removal of rock or soil as clastic sediment is referred to as physical or mechanical erosion; this contrasts with chemical erosion, where soil or rock material is removed from an area by dissolution. Eroded sediment or solutes may be transported just a few millimetres, or for thousands of kilometres.
Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to its natural physical state. Degradation is an evolution, different from natural evolution, related to the local climate and vegetation. It is due to the replacement of primary plant communities by the secondary communities. This replacement modifies the humus composition and amount, and affects the formation of the soil. It is directly related to human activity. Soil degradation may also be viewed as any change or ecological disturbance to the soil perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to the use and management of soils.
Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical, biological, and geography to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems. Environmental science emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment. Today it provides an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems.
Eagle is a 22-metre long impact crater located on the Meridiani Planum extraterrestrial plain, situated within the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) portion of the planet Mars. The Opportunity rover came to rest inside Eagle crater when it landed in 2004. Scientists were delighted that the rover landed there, as the crater contains rocky outcroppings that helped prove that Meridiani was once an ocean floor.
The International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS), founded in 1924 under the name International Society of Soil Science, is a scientific union and member of the International Council for Science (ICSU).
Soil survey, soil mapping, is the process of classifying soil types and other soil properties in a given area and geo-encoding such information. It applies the principles of soil science, and draws heavily from geomorphology, theories of soil formation, physical geography, and analysis of vegetation and land use patterns. Primary data for the soil survey are acquired by field sampling and by remote sensing. Remote sensing principally uses aerial photography, but LiDAR and other digital techniques are steadily gaining in popularity. In the past, a soil scientist would take hard-copies of aerial photography, topo-sheets, and mapping keys into the field with them. Today, a growing number of soil scientists bring a ruggedized tablet computer and GPS into the field with them. The tablet may be loaded with digital aerial photos, LiDAR, topography, soil geodatabases, mapping keys, and more.
Vastitas Borealis is the largest lowland region of Mars. It is in the northerly latitudes of the planet and encircles the northern polar region. Vastitas Borealis is often simply referred to as the northern plains, northern lowlands or the North polar erg of Mars. The plains lie 4–5 km below the mean radius of the planet, and is centered at 87.73°N 32.53°E. A small part of Vastitas Borealis lies in the Ismenius Lacus quadrangle.
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), is the largest soil-specific society in the United States. It was formed in 1936 from the merger of the Soils Section of the American Society of Agronomy and the American Soil Survey Association. The Soils Section of ASA became the official Americas section of the International Union of Soil Sciences in 1934, a notable role which SSSA continues to fulfill.
Agricultural soil science is a branch of soil science that deals with the study of edaphic conditions as they relate to the production of food and fiber. In this context, it is also a constituent of the field of agronomy and is thus also described as soil agronomy.
Subaqueous soils are soils formed in sediment found in shallow, permanently flooded environments or soils in any areas permanently covered by water too deep for the growth of rooted plants.
Terra rossa is a well-drained, reddish, clayey to silty soil with neutral pH conditions and is typical of the Mediterranean region. The reddish color of terra rossa is the result of the preferential formation of hematite over goethite. This soil type typically occurs as a discontinuous layer that ranges from a few centimeters to several meters in thickness that covers limestone and dolomite bedrock in karst regions. The high internal drainage and neutral pH conditions of terra rossa are a result of the karstic nature of the underlying limestone and dolomite. Terra rossa is also found associated with Mediterranean climates and karst elsewhere in the world.
Martian soil is the fine regolith found on the surface of Mars. Its properties can differ significantly from those of terrestrial soil, including its toxicity due to the presence of perchlorates. The term Martian soil typically refers to the finer fraction of regolith. So far, no samples have been returned to Earth, the goal of a Mars sample-return mission, but the soil has been studied remotely with the use of Mars rovers and Mars orbiters.
The National Society of Consulting Soil Scientists (NSCSS), was integrated into the Soil Science Society of America as of August, 2011. NSCSS was a scientific and professional society of soil scientists, principally in the U.S. but with non-U.S. members as well. Members engaged primarily in environmental consulting, but consulting was not a requirement of membership, and the member body included soil science educators as well as government soil scientists. Society consulting soil scientists provided professional services in the form of agricultural and environmental consulting with respect to using soil as a natural resource, especially as it relates to nutrient management, waste management, septic systems, wetlands, erosion, slope stability, land use planning, and land degradation.
Sterling Brown Hendricks was an American agriculturist notable for his research on the structural aspects of organic and inorganic chemistry, soil chemistry and plant physiology and nutrition.
The International Year of Soils, 2015 was declared by the Sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2013, after recognizing December 5 as World Soil Day.
Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B. Soil and Plant Science is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Taylor & Francis on behalf of the Nordic Association of Agricultural Scientists. It covers environmental sciences, botany, earth sciences, physical geography, ecology, and the soil sciences of relevance to agriculture. The editor-in-chief is Anna Mårtensson.
The Soil Science Society of Poland (SSSP), is a scientific and professional society of Polish soil scientists.
Rattan Lal is a soil scientist. His work focuses on regenerative agriculture through which soil can help resolve global issues such as climate change, food security and water quality.
