Special Lectures

Attend these special lectures and engage with big ideas in geoscience.

Presidential Address

Sunday, 10 Oct., 12–1:30 p.m.

Barbara L. Dutrow, GSA President (July 2021 – June 2022)

Minerals Matter: Science, Technology, and Society

Streaming / Recorded

Abstract

Minerals, the solid material comprising planet Earth, are within the intellectual realm of geoscientists but are so much more fundamental—to science, technology and society. From the beginnings of humankind, Earth’s minerals have been essential for artistic expression and technological advances, as well as for the evolution and well-being of society. Prior to written language, paintings made of mineral pigments adorned caves. Personal adornment exploited a wide variety of mineral gemstones and continues today. The advent of human-produced fire owes it source to two minerals, pyrite and flint. Early Homo sapiens were the first mineralogists, separating different minerals into useful tools based on their physical properties such as identifying those minerals that perfectly fractured when worked. Utilization of different minerals through melting, smelting or physical manipulation, defines the Ages of Man: Stone, Bronze, Iron, and Technology.

Halbouty Lecture

Monday, 11 Oct., 12:15–1:15 p.m.

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, 2021 Michel T. Halbouty Distinguished Lecture

On Soil Erosion and Biogeochemical Cycling of Essential Elements

Streaming / Recorded

Abstract

Most of the earth's terrestrial ecosystem is composed of sloping landscapes, where soil organic matter dynamics is partly controlled by the mass movement events that laterally distribute topsoil. Accurate estimation of the global soil carbon stock or the potential of soils to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide are complicated by the effects of soil redistribution on net primary productivity, decomposition, and physical and chemical processes that regulate persistence of organic matter in soil. In this presentation, I will discuss: (1) why and how soil erosion can constitute a C sink; and how soil erosion is being considered within the context of global climate models; (2) the role of soil erosion on determining spatial distribution and stocks of SOM, stability, and stabilization mechanisms; (3) emerging understanding of the role of soil erosion controls of soil nitrogen, and dynamics of pyrogenic carbon post-fire. I will conclude the presentation by highlighting remaining knowledge gaps in our understanding of the role of soil erosion in soil phosphorus dynamics, and SOM dynamics in temperate forests and arctic ecosystems.