Time and location: Mon, 1-3, 103 Mulford Hall
Description: This seminar will explore environmental quality from the aspect of soil science by focusing on the interdisciplinary fields of soil pollution and remediation. Soil degradation is a global problem that encompasses physical, chemical and biological deterioration and it is estimated that 17% of the Earth’s vegetated land surface has experienced degradation in the past 70 years. This has dramatic consequences on the many crucial roles played by soils in the quality of our environment, affecting, for example, food and water quality and quantity, as well as human and ecosystem health. Soils can be a source, a sink or an interactive medium for the many contaminants and pollutants that affect living organisms and this seminar will explore how understanding soil properties and processes is essential to evaluate pollutants behaviour in soil, and to design (bio)remediation strategies. The seminar will discuss pollution related to agriculture, urbanization, energy generation… and will include current topics, relevant problems and discussion of emerging approaches to soil remediation, with a focus on bioremediation and phytoremediation.
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