Graduate Seminar: Fall 2004 (2 units)
ESPM 298: Weathering, Atmospheric Deposition, and the Biogeochemistry of Soils
CCN 31018
Sec. 2
Thursday 3:30-5 pm 201 Giannini
Ronald Amundson, earthy@nature.berkeley.edu
Summary
The combined processes of chemical weathering and atmospheric deposition of
dust and solutes drive long-term terrestrial ecosystem functioning, and there is a growing
interest and research activity in this field. Some of the principle reasons for this expanded
interest include the growing use of quantitative chemical mass balance methods (to
evaluate net weathering in soils) and a steady increase in the focus on atmospheric
transport and deposition as a critical control on soil and ecosystem chemistry. These
processes are now being promoted to funding agencies through the Weathering System
Sciences Consortium (WSSC)(Anderson et al., 2004. EOS 85(28):265;
http://www.wssc.psu.edu/).
The purpose of this seminar is to introduce students to the approaches of
measuring weathering rates and amounts in soils, consider the sources of dust and solutes
(and their deposition rates), examine on-going research on modeling soil transport and
weathering, and review and integrate case studies on weathering vs. time and climate.
Additional themes may be explored depending on student interest.
Two introductory meetings will be held: one for class organization and a second
as an introductory seminar by the instructor. Subsequent meetings will be coordinated by
students and visitors, who will either present an oral discussion and summary springing
from assigned papers, or from their own research (within the conceptual context of the
seminar). Students will be graded on attendance, presentation of their paper(s), and
participation.
The initial organizational meeting will be Thursday, September 2 at 3:30 PM in
201 Giannini. If a time change is needed, it will be decided at that time. A tentative list of
topics is given below. The sequence of topics is subject to change.
Aug. 31: Organizational meeting
Sept. 7: Overview of soil formation
Sept. 14: Mass balance models of weathering
Sept. 21: Watershed approaches to weathering
Sept. 28: Global dust sources and patterns
Oct. 5: Behavior of P during weathering
Oct. 12: Behavior of Ca during weathering
Oct. 19: Behavior of S during weathering
Oct, 26: Lessons from chronosequences
Nov. 2: Weathering and hillslopes
Nov. 9: Soil formation in the Atacama Desert
Nov. 16: Plants and weathering
Nov. 30: Weathering and climate
Dec. 7: Integration
Weathering System Science focuses upon the complex interplay of physical, chemical, and biological
processes controlling rates and mechanisms of weathering within the Critical Zone -- the zone between the
lower limits of groundwater and the outer land and vegetation surfaces. The weathering system is impacted
by forcing from tectonism, climate, and anthropogenic activity. The extent and rates of weathering can be
read not only in the Critical Zone itself, but also in changes in chemistry in the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
and in sediments over geologic time.