Popular Culture – Colby Digs Soil

Science Communication College Course Ideas

Hello all. Sorry I’ve been too busy to update the site with new posts recently. I’ve been putting in about 80 hour weeks every week this summer trying to keep up with all of the field work for my project in Alaska. Saying Alaska has a short field/growing season is definitely an understatement! Anyway, IContinue reading “Science Communication College Course Ideas”

Soil Science in the News: Eating Dirt

I came across an interesting story from NPR today, entitled “The Old And Mysterious Practice Of Eating Dirt, Revealed“. It’s about the ancient practice of eating soil (or mineral deposits), often called Geophagy. I’ve heard about this practice in a few of the soil science classes I’ve taken over the years, and in a “WorldContinue reading “Soil Science in the News: Eating Dirt”

Citizen Soil Science: Cropland Capture

If you’re looking for a fun game for your mobile device but want to help science at the same time, then I know the app for you. “Cropland Capture” is a fun game designed to help classify areas of land on our planet as either cropland or not cropland. With over 7 billion people onContinue reading “Citizen Soil Science: Cropland Capture”

Citizen (Soil) Science: Predicting 17 Yr Cicada Arrival

The 17 year cicada (genus Magicicada) will emerge on the American east coast again this year in just a few days. As nymphs (grubs) they feed on the xylem fluid of deciduous tree roots. The xylem in plants is basically the tubes through which water and nutrients flow as it moves from the roots to theContinue reading “Citizen (Soil) Science: Predicting 17 Yr Cicada Arrival”

Nature Geosciences: Rare Earth Scientists

I came across an interesting article recently in Nature Geoscience called “Rare Earth Scientists” that discussed how there is a large demand for scientists in the earth science fields, yet the availability of scientists is falling short. Here are some interesting parts of the article: As a result of these emerging job opportunities for geoscientists,Continue reading “Nature Geosciences: Rare Earth Scientists”

Soil Science In The News: “The Dust Bowl” by Ken Burns

PBS is currently broadcasting “The Dust Bowl” documentary film series by Ken Burns. It’s a series of movies about one of the most tragic environmental disasters to ever face the United States. The description of the films on PBS’s website reads: THE DUST BOWL chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheatContinue reading “Soil Science In The News: “The Dust Bowl” by Ken Burns”

Unlocking Ancient Maya Secrets With Modern Soil Science

When I see an interesting story involving soil science in the news, I like to post them here for my reading audience. One story I’ve seen in a variety of places is about a research article posted in the Soil Science Society of American Journal entitled Upland and Lowland Soil Resources of the Ancient Maya atContinue reading “Unlocking Ancient Maya Secrets With Modern Soil Science”

International EarthCache Day

Many of readers of this blog are outdoor enthusiasts. One “game” that has gained in popularity among outdoor enthusiasts is Geocaching. Geocaching is basically a high-tech treasure hunt where people get coordinates for a hidden geocache from a website called geocaching.com. They then enter those coordinates into a GPS receiver, or into their GPS-enabled smartContinue reading “International EarthCache Day”

Earthworm Invasion: Good or Bad for Soil

I came across a news article put out by the BBC. It was entitled Earthworm Invasion: Aliens Causing More Harm Than Good? by Jeremy Coles and Matt Walker. It is an interesting article, and an interesting soil science topic. I recommend going and reading that article first, then come on back to ColbyDigsSoil to read the restContinue reading “Earthworm Invasion: Good or Bad for Soil”