Friday Headlines – June 5, 2020 – #BlackLivesMatter

Friday Headlines, March 6, 2020

PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE GEOSCIENCES

In light of the recent death of George Floyd and the following #BlackLivesMatter protests, I feel it is appropriate and necessary to highlight geoscientists of color.

I do not fully understand the struggles that are faced by people of color in this country, but I’m listening. Your pain is real. Your protests are valid.

Paleontology

• Meet Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe – Palynology and Sedimentology

Geology

• Meet Tolulope Olugboji – Seismology & Computational Geophysics

Environmental Science and Climate Change

• Meet Asmeret Asefaw Berhe – Soil Biogeochemistry

The biostratigraphy of the offshore Niger delta during the Late Quaternary: Complexities and progress of dating techniques

Microfossils like the foraminifera and nannofossils can be used to assign relative age of sedimentary layers, which can be used to study how the Niger Delta formed.

Adojoh, O., Marret-DAvies, F., Duller, R., Osterloff, P., Oboh-Ikuenobe, F., Hart, M., and Smart, C., 2020, The biostratigraphy of the offshore Niger delta during the Late Quaternary: Complexities and progress of dating techniques: Quarternary Science Advances, v. 1, 100003; doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2020.100003

Nature of the seismic lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary within normal oceanic mantle from high‐resolution receiver functions

Through study of vibrations passing through the Earth, it is possible to get an image of the structures of the Earth’s interior – a little bit like how and ultrasound allows us to see inside a person’s body. In this study, the authors looked closely at the transition between the Earth’s lithosphere (the outermost layer of the Earth) and the asthenosphere below it and at how the two layers transition from one to another.

Olugboji, T.M., Park, J., Karato, S.-i., and Shinohara, M., 2016, Nature of the seismic lithosphere‐asthenosphere boundary within normal oceanic mantle from high‐resolution receiver functions: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, v. 17; doi.org/10.1002/2015GC006214

Role of soil erosion in biogeochemical cycling of essential elements: Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus

Soil erosion affects the cycling of essential elements in the Earth, including carbon dioxide. Erosion therefore has an important effect on the Earth’s climate.

Berhe, A.A., Barnes,R.T., Six,J. and Marín-Spiotta, E. 2019. Role of soil erosion in biogeochemical cycling of essential elements: Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus: Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, v. 46, p. 521-548; doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-082517-010018