We take soil for granted, but it a vital component of the global ecosystem. Dr. Kurtz explains how soils evolve, diversify and enable plant and animal life. And why there is increasing concern today about threats to soil, the “skin” of the Earth.
**Andy Kurtz’s** research involves applying trace element and isotope geochemistry to Earth surface processes, Earth history, and biogeochemical cycles. A particular interest is understanding links between terrestrial and marine processes. Among the most important of these links is silicate weathering, because of its role in releasing nutrients from bedrock, its influence on the composition and magnitude of riverine dissolved and particulate loads, and for its importance in the global cycles of C, Si, P, and many other elements.