EARTHSHAPE – BIOSOILS | Biogenic weathering: opening the black box with new isotope systems and in situ mineral decomposition experiments
| Led by: | Dr. Jens Boy, Prof. Dr. Georg Guggenberger, Prof. Dr. Robert Mikutta |
| Year: | 2015 |
| Duration: | 2015 - 2018 |
Beteiligte Institutionen der FZ:GEO:
This project links the disciplines of Geology/Geochemistry and Environmental Ecology/Soil Sciences to jointly explore the role of biogenic weathering for linking denudation (removal of mass) and soil production (supply of regolith mass from rock or from dust). We hypothesize that such biogenic weathering is controlled by nutrient demand of the photoautotroph community of an ecosystem to maintain the long-term nutritional status-quo. We shall research into the potential biogenic weathering with in situ mineral decomposition experiments and identify the effective mineral sources from which biota obtain their nutrients using novel isotope ratio systems.
