The National Research Council will convene experts in soil science and associated disciplines to identify emerging research opportunities and applications of expected advances in soil science, particularly in the integration of biological, ecological, geological, chemical, and information technology sciences. The experts will address the interaction of classic soil science sub-disciplines - chemistry, physics, biology, mineralogy, and pedology - within the context of rapid advances in related scientific disciplines, and in consideration of emerging environmental and political environments. The resulting report will highlight new interdisciplinary opportunities for soil science research and demonstrate to other disciplines how soil science can offer different perspectives on research in areas such as climate change, hydrology, carbon sequestration, and water quality.
The project will emphasize how a better understanding of fundamental soil processes can contribute to solutions of many ecological, environmental, engineering, agricultural, and political challenges. It will identify areas in which collaborative research with other disciplines may lead to the discovery of new techniques or understandings of processes, leading to further breakthroughs in science. The organizers will include graduate students in the project and disseminate the resulting report to a broad international audience, expanding the reach of the project and encouraging others to continue the dialogue.
