{"id":48861,"date":"2013-12-16T13:05:18","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T13:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/?page_id=48861"},"modified":"2026-03-11T14:40:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T14:40:02","slug":"sverdrup","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/sverdrup\/","title":{"rendered":"The General Leif J. Sverdrup Visiting Scientist Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

Grounded in Nature: What\u2019s Soil Got to Do With Climate Change?<\/h2>\n

Convocation Lecture<\/h3>\n

April 22, 2026, 12 p.m.\u2014Hoversten Chapel<\/h3>\n

The soil system stores twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and all the world\u2019s vegetation combined. The exchange of greenhouse gases between the soil and the atmosphere controls the composition of the earth\u2019s climate. Over the last two centuries, human actions have increased the flux of greenhouse gases from soil to the atmosphere. Recent studies highlight soil management’s role in reversing the increasing concentrations of greenhouses in the atmosphere by implementing climate-smart land management practices. This presentation will discuss the fundamental mechanisms by which the soil system controls the earth\u2019s climate and the potential of different land management practices to bend the curve of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

In addition, Dr. Berhe will discuss her career trajectory from being a professor to leading one of the largest science funding agencies in the nation, infusing the perspective of an earth system scientist into science policy.<\/p>\n

Precipitation Shifts and Carbon Response: Soil Carbon Dynamics Under Climate Change.<\/h2>\n

Technical Talk<\/h3>\n

April 21, 2026, 4:30 p.m. \u2014Sateren Auditorium<\/h3>\n

Climate change is causing major shifts in precipitation patterns globally. Across a variety of ecosystems, the changes in precipitation patterns are observed as increased or decreased amounts of precipitation, shifts in the type of precipitation, changes in the timing of precipitation, more frequent extreme events, and more. How these shifts in precipitation patterns affect the soil system\u2019s ability to sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide and store and stabilize organic matter varies as a function of a host of soil and ecosystem properties. Using insights derived from a combination of short- and long-term rainfall simulation experiments and field observation studies across California, plus theoretical work, this talk will discuss the effect of changes in the amount and timing of precipitation on fluxes, stocks, composition, and stabilization mechanism of soil carbon.<\/p>\n

BIOGRAPHY<\/h2>\n

\"AThe Honorable Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe is a professor of soil biogeochemistry and the Falasco Chair at the University of California, Merced. She previously served as director of the United States Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science (a Senate-confirmed, presidential nomination) and associate dean for graduate education at UC Merced. Her research bridges the disciplines of soil science, geochemistry, global change science, and political ecology. Her research aims to improve our understanding of the soil system\u2019s role in regulating the Earth\u2019s climate; how soil carbon and nutrient cycles respond to environmental changes, including climate change, land-use changes, erosion, and wildfires; and the dynamic two-way relationship between soil and human communities. She holds the distinction of being an elected member of the United States National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of both the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, and recipient of many other awards and honors.<\/p>\n

\n

Sponsored by the General Leif J. Sverdrup Visiting Scientist Program and the Minnesota NASA Space Grant Consortium at Augsburg University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grounded in Nature: What\u2019s Soil Got to Do With Climate Change? Convocation Lecture April 22, 2026, 12 p.m.\u2014Hoversten Chapel The soil system stores twice as much carbon as the atmosphere and all the world\u2019s vegetation combined. The exchange of greenhouse gases between the soil and the atmosphere controls the composition of the earth\u2019s climate. Over …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-48861","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48861"}],"version-history":[{"count":77,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52189,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/48861\/revisions\/52189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/convo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}