Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center
Geochemical Landscapes
Project Development
Objectives
Mapping the geochemistry of the nation's soils was the goal of this project. To accomplish
this, we established appropriate linkages with stakeholders in both the
government and private sector, but must also assured that protocols for sample collection,
sample preparation, and chemical analysis were optimized for this wide array of customers
and collaborators. The goal of this task was to establish working relationships with key
governmental and non-governmental entities, and to establish the methodologies that will
be employed over the life of the study.
The major objectives were:
- To launch the task by putting together a soil geochemistry workshop, convened in partnership with the Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), involving the key parties from governmental agencies, private industry, and
academia to 1) exchange information regarding needs for soil geochemical data and how each agency/industry meets
these needs, 2) develop working relationships, and 3) establish priorities for the future conduct of the project. From
this workshop, we also plan to name an advisory board to provide commentary and oversight on task development and
outreach for the project.
- Conduct an inventory to locate all available regional-scale soil geochemical data sets and make these data sets
available on a web site.
- Develop soil standard reference materials to assure that high-quality data is produced by the project.
- Establish sample collection, sample preparation, and analytical methodologies that can be confidently employed
throughout the life of the project.
Subtasks
Products
Fact Sheets
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Wilson, M.A., and Burt, Rebecca, 2003, A proposal for upgrading the
national-scale soil geochemical database for the United States: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-015-03. Available online at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-015-03/.
Presentations
- Rencz, Andy, and Smith, D.B., 2007, North American Soil
Geochemical Landscapes Project: Abstracts, Society of Environmental Toxicology and
Chemistry North America 28th Annual Meeting, Milwaukee, Nov. 11-15, 2007.
- Salminen, R., Batista, M.J., Bidovec, M., Demetriades, A., De
Vivo, B., De Vos, W., Duris, M., Gilucis, A., Gregorauskiene, V., Halamic, J., Heitzmann, P.,
Lima, A., Jordan, G., Klavert, G., Klein, P., Lis, J., Locutura, J., Marsina, K., Mazreku, A.,
Mrnkova, J., O’Connor, P.J., Olsson, S.Å., Ottesen, R.T., Petersell, V., Pirc, S., Plant, J.A.,
Reeder, S., Reimann, C., Salpeteur, I., Sandström, H., Siewers, U.,
Smith, D., Steenfelt, A., and Tarvainen, T., 2006, Geochemical baseline mapping
of European soils: Abstracts of the 18th World Congress of Soil Science, July 9-15, 2006,
Philadelphia, PA (CD-ROM).
- Smith, D.B., 2006, The Geochemical Landscapes Project:
Establishing a soil
geochemical database for North America: Presentation to the annual meeting of the
Association of American State Geologists, Santa Fe, NM, June 11, 2006.
- Smith, D.B., and Goldhaber, M.B., 2005. The Geochemical
Landscapes Project: Pilot studies for a proposed soil geochemical survey of North America.
Invited presentation at the USGS-sponsored workshop "Environmental Effects of
Agricultural Practices", Denver, CO, June 14-16, 2005.
- Smith, D.B., and Goldhaber, M.B., 2005, An international collaborative effort to establish a soil
geochemical database for North America (presentation to Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, March 8, 2005).
- Smith, D.B., and Goldhaber, M.B., 2003, The Geochemical Landscapes Project: Developing a
new soil geochemical database for North America: Briefing given to the U.S. National Committee on Soil Science and, separately, to the Board of Directors of the Soil Science Society of America, November 1, 2003.
- Smith, D.B., and Goldhaber, M.B., 2003, The geochemical landscapes project: Invited
presentation to the American Association of State Geologists Central States Cluster Meeting,
November 13, 2003, Vermillion, South Dakota.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Cannon, W.F., Woodruff, L.G., Garrett, R.G., Eilers, R.G., and Prieto, J.C.S., 2005, A proposed soil geochemical survey of North America [abs.]: Abstract Book, 21st Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, and Water; Amherst, MA; Oct. 17-20, 2005, p. 164.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Garrett, R.G., Wilson, M.A., Burt, R., and
Gomez de la Rosa, E., 2004, An international collaborative effort to
establish a soil geochemical database for North America: 32nd International
Geological Congress, 2004, Abstracts Volume, pt. 1, abs. 135-4. p. 617.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Helsel, D.R., Garrett, R.G., Wilson, M.A.,
Burt, R., and Gomez de la Rosa, E., 2003, A proposed continental-scale
soil geochemical survey of North America: Establishing a database for the
21st century: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 34, no. 7, p. 131. View
Smith GSA abstract.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., and Smith, S.M., 2003, The U.S. Geological Survey's National
Geochemical Database: A possible link between earth science and health science [abs.]: 21st Annual Epidemiologic Research Exchange, Feb. 7, 2003, p. 12.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Wilson, M.A., and Burt, R. 2003, Geochemical
background data for soils of the United States: Current status and new opportunities [abs.]: Proceedings of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Pacific Division, Vol. 22, Part 1, p. 83-84.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Wilson, M.A., and Burt, R., 2003, Geochemical baselines
and human health [abs.]: Natural Science and Public Health-Prescription for a Better Environment, Abstracts from
the conference on April 1-3, 2003, Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-097, p. 74. Available online at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-097/.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Wilson, M.A., and Burt, R., Geochemical
background data for soils of the United States: Current status and new opportunites, Electric Power Research Institute.
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Wilson, M.A., Burt, R.and Helmke, P.A., 2003, A
proposed continental-scale soil geochemical survey of North America: Annual Meetings Abstracts, American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, 2003 Annual Meetings (CD-ROM).
- Smith, D.B., Gustavsson, N., and Bolviken, B., 2003, Geochemical maps
based on ultralow- density sampling of the conterminous United States [abs.]:
Natural Science and Public Health- Prescription for a Better Environment,
Abstracts from the conference on April 1-3, 2003, Reston, Virginia: U.S.
Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-097, p. 75.
Available online at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-097/.
Reports and Articles
- Loynachan, T.E., Brown, K.W., Cooper, T.H., Kimble, J.M., Milford, M.H,
and Smith, D.B., 2005, Soils, Society, and the Environment: American Geological
Institute, Alexandria, VA,
64 p.
- Plant, J.A., Smith, D.B., Smith, B., and Reeder, S., 2003, Environmental geochemistry on a
global scale, in Skinner, H.C.W., and Berger, A.R., eds., Geology and Health: Closing the Gap, Oxford University Press,
New York, p. 129-134.
- Smith, D.B., and Goldhaber, M.B., 2004, Guest editorial: Updating the soil background database: Gradient Trends, Risk Science and Application, Fall 2004, p. 6. (http://www.gradientcorp.com/coinfo/pdf/Trends31.pdf, PDF
file, 385 k)
- Smith, D.B., and Goldhaber, M.B., 2005, An international collaborative
effort to establish a soil geochemical database for North America (presentation to Canadian
Land Resources Network, Ottawa, March 9, 2005), Canadian Land Resources Network.
Workshops
- Smith, D.B., Goldhaber, M.B., Wilson, M.A., Burt, R., and Helmke, P.A., 2003, A
proposed continental-scale soil geochemical survey of North America: Annual Meetings Abstracts, American Society of
Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America, 2003 Annual Meetings (CD-ROM).
Other
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