If we think of Earth as a living being, then the ‘skin’ of the planet is its most critical zone.
That’s according to an interview that the National Science Foundation podcast Science 360 did with UT’s Thanos Papanicolaou.
Papanicolaou, who is the Henry Goodrich Chair of Excellence in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as well as the director of the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center, has spent his career studying that skin, whether it be water, soil, or rock, and is a leading expert on the subject.
Papanicolaou described how his team conducts soil runoff studies in particular, and why they are important.
“Our team at the University of Tennessee examines ways of storing carbon within the soil profile for improving soil quality and productivity,” Papanicolaou said. “Also, we determine from which areas within the watershed most of the eroded soil originates using different tracers.”
That interview can be accessed here