July
5
2010
Alex McBratney, Budiman Minasny, and Dick Brus have, this year, undertaken the considerable task of preparing the nominations for best paper in Pedometrics 2009. All members of the IUSS are invited to vote for the best paper, and to send their votes to Axing Zhu, azhu@wisc.edu.
List the papers by number (as below) in order of preference, with the paper you regard as the most worthy winner listed first. The vote will end at midnight (Wisconsin time) on 30th November 2010., and the result will be announced in Pedometron. Certificates will be presented at Pedometrics 2011 in Třešť.
The nominations are:
1. Carré, F., M. Jacobson. 2009. Numerical classification of soil profile data using distance metrics. Geoderma 148, 336–345. [Download Paper here]
2. Goidts, E., B. van Wesemael and M. Crucifix.2009. Magnitude and sources of uncertainties in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock assessments at various scales. European Journal of Soil Science 60, 723–739.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122519466/abstract
3. Kaufmann, M., S. Tobias, R. Schulin. 2009. Quality evaluation of restored soils with a fuzzy logic expert system. Geoderma 151, 290–302. [Download Paper here]
4. Marchant, B. P. , S. Newman, R. Corstanje, K. R. Reddy, T. Z. Osborne & R. M. Lark. 2009. Spatial monitoring of a non-stationary soil property: phosphorus in a Florida water conservation area. European Journal of Soil Science 60, 757– 769.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122519469/abstract
5. Yeluripati, J.B., van Oijen, M., Wattenbach, M., Neftel, A., Ammann, A., Parton, W.J., Smith, P. 2009 Bayesian calibration as a tool for initialising the carbon pools of dynamic soil models. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41, 2579–2583. [Download Paper here]
July
3
2010
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100630/full/news.2010.325.html
The first satellite-derived map of global soil moisture has been unveiled today at the Living Planet Symposium, an Earth-observation conference being held this week in Bergen, Norway.
The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission — part of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) extended ‘living planet’ programme on Earth observation — was launched in November 2009. After a six-month commissioning and calibration period, the instrument became operational on 21 May.
Data from SMOS have now enabled researchers to assemble a comprehensive map of global soil moisture that covers all land areas of the world, except for frozen soils at high latitudes and in some mountain regions.
The map, generated on 24 June, depicts features such as the unusual current soil dryness in the southern United Kingdom, and the relative soil wetness in parts of western Africa caused by recent abundant convective rainfall.
The most surprising features on the map, however, are the relatively high soil-moisture values throughout the central United States, where scientists would have expected much drier soil at this time of year.
The SMOS satellite carries an interferometric radiometer that captures images of ‘brightness temperature’, a measure of the microwave radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. Complex algorithms are used to process the raw data and turn them into global soil-moisture maps every three days. Maps of ocean salinity, not yet released, will be produced every 30 days.
This comprehensive satellite map of soil moisture covers most land areas of the world, and was produced from data gathered by the European Space Agency’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission. Its most surprising finding is the unusual wetness in western African and central US soils. (Dryness is indicated by blue, wetness by red.)
July
2
2010
Alex McBratney, Budiman Minasny, and Dick Brus have, this year, undertaken the considerable task of preparing the nominations for best paper in Pedometrics 2009. All members of the IUSS are invited to vote for the best paper, and to send their votes to Axing Zhu, azhu@wisc.edu.
List the papers by number (as below) in order of preference, with the paper you regard as the most worthy winner listed first. The vote will end at midnight (Wisconsin time) on 30th November 2010., and the result will be announced in Pedometron. Certificates will be presented at Pedometrics 2011 in Třešť.
The nominations are:
1. Carré, F., M. Jacobson. 2009. Numerical classification of soil profile data using distance metrics. Geoderma 148, 336–345. [Download Paper here]
2. Goidts, E., B. van Wesemael and M. Crucifix.2009. Magnitude and sources of uncertainties in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock assessments at various scales. European Journal of Soil Science 60, 723–739.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122519466/abstract
3. Kaufmann, M., S. Tobias, R. Schulin. 2009. Quality evaluation of restored soils with a fuzzy logic expert system. Geoderma 151, 290–302. [Download Paper here]
4. Marchant, B. P. , S. Newman, R. Corstanje, K. R. Reddy, T. Z. Osborne & R. M. Lark. 2009. Spatial monitoring of a non-stationary soil property: phosphorus in a Florida water conservation area. European Journal of Soil Science 60, 757– 769.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/122519469/abstract
5. Yeluripati, J.B., van Oijen, M., Wattenbach, M., Neftel, A., Ammann, A., Parton, W.J., Smith, P. 2009 Bayesian calibration as a tool for initialising the carbon pools of dynamic soil models. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 41, 2579–2583. [Download Paper here]
June
12
2010
OPTIMIZING AND INTEGRATING PREDICTIONS OF AGRICULTURAL SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION MODELS AT DIFFERENT SCALES
This workshop is aimed to improve our understanding of the interrelated issues of land degradation, agricultural performance and the effects of soil and water conservation measures.
The workshop will bring together scientists that work with predictive models and scientists that are active in gathering field data and information on the spatial variability of environmental factors (soil, climate, etc.).
Special importance will go to: (i) optimization of models for soil and water conservation; (ii) integration of models with field data and (iii) scale issues
17 international leaders in this field are invited as speakers. Further contributions are invited in poster format.
Venue
Baeza, Spain, 27th-29th September 2010.
For more information, please see:
http://www.unia.es/content/view/798/537/
http://www.unia.es/images/stories/workshops/Medio_Ambiente/poster20101.jpg
Email: ag2vavat@uco.es
May
2
2010
Here’s the program for the 4th International Workshop on Digital Soil Mapping
Rome, 24‐26 May 2010.
Download DSM 2010 Program
March
9
2010
The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BUNDESANSTALT FÜR GEOWIS-SENSCHAFTEN UND ROHSTOFFE, BGR) is searching for an Informatics Specialist to be hired as soon as possible, for the duration of the research project “GS Soil” until 31.05.2012.
The position is part of the BGR’s contributions to the project GS Soil (Assessment and Strategic De-velopment of INSPIRE-compliant Geodata-Services for European Soil Data www.gssoil.eu), financed under the EU eContentplus Programme.
Responsibilities and duties
− Concept development and implementation of interconnections between geoscientific (soil) data bases for web-based data communication in Germany and Europe
− Development of concepts to facilitate compatibility, interoperability and applicability of digital prod-ucts in soil and environmental information systems
− Analysis of existing web-portal and digital product designs as well as standards (such as OGC observation and measurements) for further development of soil information systems, data bases and geo-portals
− Contributions to the development of international and national standards for the encoding of soil data, including testing its applicability
− Development of interactive geoscientific web applications (e.g. transformation services for nomen-clature harmonization)
Employment conditions
Applicants must hold a University Diploma or MSc degree in informatics or comparable, with additional geoscientific qualification preferred. In order to further develop and manage the communication be-tween geoscientific/environmental information systems in the web, the position requires excellent knowledge of web-GIS standards (OGC, W3C, ISO, CEN). In particular, a thorough understanding of XML/UML/GML is needed for the modelling of data specifications (for soil data). In order to intercon-nect and retrieve data interactively, in-depth experience is needed in managing SQL-data bases e.g. using MS-SQL, MySQL or PostgreSQL, as well as knowledge of script languages PHP, JavaSript (AJAX), etc. The modification and adaptation of libraries and domain applications requires experience in programming, preferably C++. Fluency in English language is required, basic knowledge in German or willingness to learn German would be an asset.
The place of work is the Hannover headquarters, maybe by personal preference our office in Berlin. Payment is based on E13 or E 14 due to the TVöD and depends on the individual qualification of the applicant. BGR is an equal opportunities employer. A full-time position is planned, part-time would be considered.
We ask you to provide us with your detailed application referring to „GS Soil Informatics“ and applica-tion number B 23/10 including CV, brief statement of research interests and accomplishments, copies of relevant certificates as well as individual project results/publications/links to demonstrate your level of experience. Please send your application until the 16.04.2010 to
Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)
- Staff -
Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hanover, Germany
Information about BGR can be found at www.bgr.bund.de.
For more information, you are welcome to contact rainer.baritz@bgr.de, or by phone +49/511/643-2409.
March
9
2010
BGR is searching for a Geoscientist to be hired as soon as possible, for the duration of the research project “GS Soil” until 31.05.2012.
The position is part of the BGR’s contributions to the project GS Soil (Assessment and Strategic De-velopment of INSPIRE-compliant Geodata-Services for European Soil Data www.gssoil.eu), financed under the EU eContentplus Programme.
Responsibilities and duties
− Analysis and comparison of content and structures of national and international geoscientific par-ticularly soil data bases
− Development of data specifications for soil information with respect to web-based data communica-tion
− Development of transformation methods to facilitate harmonized soil data exchange
− Development and presentation of interoperable soil data including meta data through the BGR soil information system
Employment conditions
Applicants must hold a University Diploma or MSc degree in a geoscientific discipline with a concen-tration on soil science and geoinformatics. The position requires excellent knowledge in the manage-ment of the components of geoscientific information systems: map and measurement data, as well as metadata. The project develops strategies to facilitate web-based communication of interoperable soil data in distributed systems. This requires the profound understanding of soil mapping data, soil no-menclatures, soil data bases, combined with experience of OGC/ISO standards related to web-GIS, metadata, data encoding and export (XML). The project work relies on a broad range of GIS applica-tion skills. Fluency in English language is required, basic knowledge in German or willingness to learn German would be an asset.
The place of work is the Hannover headquarters, maybe by personal preference our office in Berlin. Payment is based on E13 or E 14 due to the TVöD and depends on the individual qualification of the applicant. BGR is an equal opportunities employer. A full-time position is planned, part-time would be considered.
We ask you to provide us with your detailed application referring to „GS Soil Geoscientist“ and applica-tion number B 22/10 including CV, brief statement of research interests and accomplishments, copies of relevant certificates as well as individual project results/publications/links to demonstrate your level of experience. Please send your application until the 16.04.2010 to
Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)
- Staff -
Stilleweg 2, 30655 Hanover, Germany
Information about BGR can be found at www.bgr.bund.de.
For more information, you are welcome to contact rainer.baritz@bgr.de, or by phone +49/511/643-2409.
March
2
2010
2 vacancies for term positions in digital soil mapping and crop modelling at ISRIC World Soil Information.
1. Researcher digital soil mapping
a dedicated scientist in digital soil mapping (dsm) to support the development of a global soil information system.
http://www.academictransfer.com/employer/WUR/vacancy/3315/lang/en/
2. Researcher in Soil and Crop Modelling
Job description
a dedicated scientist in soil and crop modelling to support the development of a global soil information system
http://www.academictransfer.com/employer/WUR/vacancy/3314/lang/en/
February
1
2010
According to Thompson Reuters ScienceWatch.com December 2009, the emerging Research Front in Agricultural Science is Digital Soil Mapping.
Alex McBratney talks with ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about this month’s (December 2009) Emerging Research Front Paper in the field of Agricultural Sciences.
http://sciencewatch.com/dr/erf/2010/10feberf/10feberfMcBr/
Article: On digital soil mapping
Authors: McBratney, AB;Santos, MLM;Minasny, B
Journal: GEODERMA, 117 (1-2): 3-52 NOV 2003
Why do you think your paper is highly cited?
I think it both defined a new approach and brought recognition to a new area of research and application. It is also timely because, at the turn of the century, scientists recognized the difficulty of conventional soil mapping. With limited budgets, soil and environmental scientists are looking for new ways of producing soil and related maps more efficiently.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis of knowledge?
At first this paper was a review, then, after some thought, it became a synthesis, and then, after some further thought, it was clear that there was a more generic approach that could be developed. This is a good example of going from review to new ideas. The paper probably led to a scientific movement which then led to a global project.
This paper introduced the quantitative scorpan concept, where soil can be predicted from S: soil, C: climate, O: organism, R: relief, P: parent materials, A: age, and N: geographic space. It also proposed the spatial soil prediction function which allows us to spatially predict soil properties across any region of interest.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman’s terms?
It suggests a new way of doing soil mapping that uses the latest technology and our best ideas about how soil varies across a landscape. The new way is potentially much more efficient and more quantitative than the old one.
How did you become involved in this research and were any particular problems encountered along the way?
I’ve been involved in various aspects of quantitative soil mapping my entire research career. It was only with the time for reflection that sabbatical leave allows that I could thoroughly investigate what everyone had been doing during the previous years, and see the threads and commonalities to put it all together, and then suggest a new way of thinking.
It only goes to show that time set aside for reading and reflection is quite important for the development of science and, too often, this opportunity is denied us by the increasing hurly-burly involved in the administration of science.
Where do you see your research leading in the future?
This research has led to a movement of people across the world who are investigating digital soil mapping as a way of producing soil information for today’s problems. Several conferences have been held and books have been produced and there is a growing literature in the scientific periodicals. Most importantly, there is now a global project to produce a global map of soil properties at a resolution of 90m x 90m.
This idea was not even conceived at the turn of the millennium. However, after the first and second conferences on digital soil mapping, which were held in 2004 and 2006, subsequent to the publication of our Geoderma paper, a group of people felt confident enough that we could achieve such an aim. It’s a great challenge but it’s one that we must engage. Some of the aspects of this were described recently in a paper by Pedro A. Sanchez, et al. “Digital soil map of the world,” Science 7(325): 680-1, August 2009.
Do you foresee any social or political implications for your research?
The paper probably led to a scientific movement which then led to a global project. The major aims of the global project are to produce relevant soil information for solving today’s and tomorrow’s great problems: food security, water security, energy security, and sustainable response to climate change. The information digitally produced by global soil mapping will allow modelers, planners, and policymakers to put in place responsive and responsible actions for the use of the global community.
January
23
2010
PhD studentship at Cranfield University in Site Specific Land Management based on Proximal Soil Sensing
Academic Supervisors: Dr Abdul Mouazen - Dr Ronald Corstanje
Duration: Three years
Start Date: ASAP
Closing Date: 1stth March 2010
Supported by the Douglas Bomford Trust and the DTA, a studentship up to £14,000 p.a. for 3 years plus fees* is available
Cranfield University is seeking a highly motivated graduate to undertake this exciting research project which aims to build a sensor fusion platform able to gather a number of sensor techniques in one platform for site specific soil management.
Traditional site specific soil management relies on data collection about soil, in addition to that on weather, topography, plant growth and yield, which are analysed with traditional methods of laboratory soil analysis (chemical, physical, biological, etc). The most recent advancement on utilising proximal sensing for site specific soil management, suggests that existing technology to acquire some key elements in soils (e.g. carbon, bulk density and clay content) are lacking and that the new innovative on-the-go visible and near infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy sensors will enable measurement of these properties.
Due to the complex nature of agricultural soils, a sensing technique that provides information about one parameter is considered of limited use. Most recently, researchers focus on the development of a new approach for soil sensing based on gathering several sensing techniques in one platform. This approach is designated as sensor fusion system. Very limited literature on this new topic has been published so far. Therefore, delineation of soil management zones based on sensor fusion systems will be an innovative approach, and has not been investigated so far.
The project proposes to build a sensor fusion platform that gathers a Vis-NIR sensor together with electromagnetic induction (EMI) and capacitance sensors. Data output from these two proximal sensing systems will be combined with data obtained on topography, crop, weather and yield. Using advanced geo-statistical analysis, management zones of soil and crop will be delineated and utilised for site specific management of tillage and fertilisation, including organic and inorganic fertilisers.
Entry Requirements:
Applicants should have a first or upper second class UK honours degree or equivalent in a related discipline. We are seeking a qualified agricultural engineer, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer pr agronomist who is interested in soil management and land use, geo-statistics, sensors and field work. The successful candidate should have a basic knowledge in data logging systems and electronics, since they will operate sensor fusion platform.
Funding
*Supported by the Douglas Bomford Trust and the DTA this studentship will cover the tuition fees at the UK/EU rate only and provide a bursary of up to £14,000 p.a. for three plus fees* years dependent upon qualifications and experience.
How to apply
Please submit a CV and complete the application form at: www.cranfield.ac.uk/prospectus/app/pgappform.pdf
Alternatively, for more information and an application form please contact:
School of Applied Sciences
T: 44 (0)1234 754086
E: appliedsciences@cranfield.ac.uk