Terra Central

Education, Pedology, Policy, Soil function and values, Soil’s Role in the Environment, Water Quality, Wetlands

A Journey on the Dirt Road

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John Freeland

on

April 18, 2016

When I was seven years old, my family moved from Dearborn, a modern suburb of Detroit, Michigan and the home of Henry Ford, to a much smaller and older town in Northwest Ohio, called Defiance. Perhaps the most notable aspect of Defiance was that it was built at the confluence…
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Hydrology, Lakes, Nutrient Management, Policy, Rivers, Water Quality

Lead, Plumbosolvency, and Phosphates in the Environment

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John Freeland

on

February 29, 2016

What’s happened to the water supply in Flint Michigan is especially ironic considering the state is surrounded by four of the five Great Lakes, which make up 95% of the surface fresh water in the United States. If Michiganders can’t have safe public water, who can? Plumbosolvency The problem, briefly summarized here,…
Continue reading →: Lead, Plumbosolvency, and Phosphates in the Environment
Agriculture, Climate Change, Hydrology, Lakes, Land Use, Nutrient Management, Policy, Rivers, Soil Fertility, Soil’s Role in the Environment, Water Quality

Agricultural Runoff and Ohio’s Senate Bill 1

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John Freeland

on

January 1, 2016

In response to the August 2014 shutdown of Toledo’s water supply due to microcystin contamination, the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 1, which regulates fertilizer and manure application to farm fields. Essentially, the new regulations prohibit spreading manure or fertilizer in the Lake Erie Watershed when soils are frozen, snow-covered…
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Agriculture, Erosion and Sedimentation, Hydrology, Lakes, Land Use, Nutrient Management, Policy, Rivers, Soil Fertility, Soil function and values, Soil’s Role in the Environment, Water Quality

Field Drain Tile and the “Re-Eutrophication” of Lake Erie

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John Freeland

on

November 16, 2015

Algae Blooms, Microcystin and Phosphorus It’s been over a year since Toledo, Ohio and surrounding communities shut down public water supplies due to an algae bloom and microcystin contamination in western Lake Erie. Was the trouble a “one-off” or can we expect more of these events in the future? While…
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Education, Rivers

North is Not Up, Nor is South Down

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John Freeland

on

August 28, 2015

I can’t count the number times I’ve heard a TV weather person make a statement akin to “this line of thunderstorms will pass below New York by Thursday afternoon.” Yes, and while it’ll be sunny up top on the street, if you’re working all day in the subway, or on…
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Climate Change, Education, Geomorphology, Marine Geology

The World’s Beaches (Book Review)

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John Freeland

on

June 28, 2015

For your summer reading edification, this is a wonderful book to take to the beach. Or, if you can’t make the trip, it’s a vicarious journey to beaches around the globe, and an invitation to appreciate their beauty, idiosyncracies, and vulnerability. The full title is The World’s Beaches: A Global…
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Agriculture, Bioregionalism, Uncategorized

Art in Science: Kubiena’s Soil Profiles in Watercolors

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John Freeland

on

June 14, 2015

Photographs of soil profiles are often disappointing. Usually the subject is a hole in the ground where light is dim and the surrounding ground surface is light. Getting a good, representative photo of a soil profile can lead to acres of frustration. W.L. Kubiena worked as a soil morphologist in…
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Pedology, Research, Soil’s Role in the Environment

Uncovering a Soil Mystery Using Micromorphology and Petrography

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John Freeland

on

May 31, 2015

This is the second in a series (link to 1st) about the genesis of the Success soil, which was the topic of my master’s research. This part has to do with using petrography to identify soil constituents and examine soil fabric to help understand soil forming processes in a particular…
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Pedology, Research, Soil’s Role in the Environment, Water Quality

Unearthing a Soil Mystery Using Differential Solution Analysis

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John Freeland

on

March 16, 2015

Some years ago while in graduate school at the University of New Hampshire, I was presented the opportunity by my advisor, Dr. Chris Evans, to solve a hard soil mystery resting mostly unnoticed except to those who had to work in it. Found on steeper slopes under coniferous forest, for…
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Agriculture, Erosion and Sedimentation, Hydrology, Land Use, Nutrient Management, Policy, Rivers, Soil function and values, Soil’s Role in the Environment, Water Quality

Update: American Farm Bureau Federation et al. v. EPA Oral Arguments

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John Freeland

on

November 20, 2014

American Farm Bureau Federation, et al. v. EPA, Case 13-4079 oral arguments were held Tuesday (see previous post) and early indications suggest the Farm Bureau is fighting an uphill battle as it attempts to block the EPA from implementing a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program for Chesepeake Bay. The…
Continue reading →: Update: American Farm Bureau Federation et al. v. EPA Oral Arguments