Speakers Club: Dr. Oliver Chadwick

Event Date: 

Thursday, April 28, 2016 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm

Event Location: 

  • Web Hall 1100

Professor Oliver Chadwick, of the Department of Geography, will give a talk at Speakers Club entitled Weathering, Acid Neutralization, Thresholds in Nutrient Supply and Polynesian Land-Use Choices on Volcanic Islands in the Pacific.  The talk is at 2:00 PM on Thursday, April 28, 2016 in Webb Hall 1100.

Abstract:
 
Hawaii is a natural laboratory where we can identify clear examples of pedogenic thresholds or strong shifts in the dominant soil chemical processes that are a prod- uct of long-term weathering. These processes control the availability of ecosystem nutrients. This talk explores linkages between pre-industrial human land use and environmental controls on the nutrient status of the underlying soil resource. It draws on extensive work in Hawaii by ecologists, soil scientists, and archeologists, and reaches more broadly to volcanic islands in other parts of Polynesia. 
Dr. Oliver Chadwick