Newswise — May 1, 2015-In celebration of the International Year of Soil 2015 (IYS), the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is coordinating a series of activities throughout to educate the public about the importance of soil. May’s theme is “Soils Support Buildings and Infrastructure”. In SSSA’s May 1 Soils Matter blog post, experts explain what type of soils provide good foundations for buildings.
According to Larry Baldwin, “building foundations need to be on stable and strong soils. Soils range in strength. Some soils are able to support a skyscraper, while other soils are not able to support the weight of a human.” Baldwin is a professional soil scientist.
Soils vary in strength and stability based on their physical properties. A mix of soil particle size is best for engineering. Good soil should also have the ability to capture precipitation, so that runoff and erosion do not damage structures. Finally, good soils for infrastructure have balanced chemistry so no building material corrosion occurs.
To read the entire blog post, visit http://soilsmatter.wordpress.com.As part of their celebration of IYS, SSSA is developing a series of twelve 2-minute educational videos. May’s Soils Support Buildings and Infrastructure video can be viewed at www.soils.org/iys/monthly-videos. Educational materials can be viewed at www.soils.org/iys.
Follow SSSA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SSSA.soils, Twitter at SSSA_Soils. SSSA has soils information on www.soils.org/discover-soils, for teachers at www.soils4teachers.org, and for students through 12th grade, www.soils4kids.org.
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is a progressive international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Based in Madison, WI, and founded in 1936, SSSA is the professional home for 6,000+ members and 1,000+ certified professionals dedicated to advancing the field of soil science. The Society provides information about soils in relation to crop production, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, recycling, and wise land use.
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