2015 Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest: Day 2
Today was our second day in the pits and… WOW! The soil been crazy compared to last year’s pits in Iowa. Interesting and diverse! Every pit at the UMN’s North Central Research and Outreach Center and the Chippewa National Forest has something interesting and I love it! So far we have practiced 4 pits individually and 3 pits as a team. We have had pits with up to 3 parent materials, lamellae and spodic subsurface features (but not Spodosols).
As the saying goes, “Take a picture, it will last longer!” Check out the pictures Ed Nater is posting! I also like to joke though that the soil will last longer.
Tomorrow, we are headed out to the peat bogs and glacial lake bottoms. Looking forward to judging my first Histosol! All the other teams have seen it and they just don’t seem to stop talking about it. Hopefully the weather holds off from the 90% chance of thunderstorms, but I guess that’s why we all packed rain gear!
It’s been a fun 3 days with the team judging and hanging out. The first two team pits we did, everyone took two different roles. We noticed quickly what was working and what wasn’t for communication and time efficiency. Today out in the pit, we broke into more assigned roles based upon what worked smoothly. We noted improvements we could make, but everyone has been commenting upon how they enjoyed their roles!
Thursday is competition day and the team is pretty excited. Looking forward to seeing what the organizers have in store, so stay tuned!
— Rusty Zimmerman, Team Captain
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
2015 Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest: Day 2
The practice pits today were located in the Chippewa National Forest north of the town of Deer River, a half hour west of Grand Rapids. The first pit was located on an outwash plain under towering red pines.
The soil exposed in the first pit, which was located on a broad summit position, had a thin loess cap with an ochric epipedon, some weak development of spodic materials in the sand beneath it, and very nice thin lamellae below that, though certainly not enough to make an argillic horizon.
The second pit was located in a footstep position and was somewhat wetter. Red maples started to appear among the red pines and a few black ash were also present. This soil was also formed in outwash with a thin loess cap. Some thin, mostly discontinuous lamellae were present, and redoximorphic features were plentiful in the lower parts of the profile.
The last site was located in a footstep position near the third site. It was not officially described, but had a thin coarse-texture loess or aeolian fine sands over glaciolacustrine sediments over sandy glacial till with numerous coarse fragments.
Tomorrow we head east to view soils formed in the Glacial Lake Upham basin near Floodwood. Many of the soils there are organic soils, which will be a new experience for all of the nearly 100 students in the competition. Should be a great experience!
The practice pits today were located in the Chippewa National Forest north of the town of Deer River, a half hour west of Grand Rapids. The first pit was located on an outwash plain under towering red pines.
Photo 1. Soil profile from the first pit.
Photo 2. Closeup showing some lamellae (dark wavy lines) in the lighter sandy matrix.
Photo 3. A close examination of the pit reveals many interesting features. (l to r) Leslee Jackson, Rusty Zimmerman, and Teng Vang.
Photo 4. The second pit was quite a bit wetter and had an incipient sporadic horizon and some well-developed redoximorphic features.
The second set of pits were located on a broad summit a few miles away in on a glacial moraine landscape. Basswood, aspen, maple, and balsam fir were the dominant forest species. The third site of the day had a moderately thick loess cap over loamy glacial till. The texture was considerably heavier than the previous two sites.
Photo 5. Rusty Zimmerman examines the profile for the third pit.
Photo 6. Most of the samples have been collected and now it's time to analyze them: texture, color, consistence, effervescence, and so forth. (l to r) Sondra Larson, Andrea Williams, Amanda Wolff, Teng Vang, Leslee Jackson, and Rusty Zimmerman.
Tomorrow we head east to view soils formed in the Glacial Lake Upham basin near Floodwood. Many of the soils there are organic soils, which will be a new experience for all of the nearly 100 students in the competition. Should be a great experience!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
2015 Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest: Day 1
Today is the first day in the practice pits. We received our pit assignments yesterday evening. We were assigned 3 pits plus a bonus pit on the UMN North Central Research and Outreach Center beef cattle unit just south of Grand Rapids.
Beautiful weather greeted us on our first day in the field. The temps were nearly perfect, the skies were clear and bright, and the pits were relatively dry. Nic Jelinski provided us with 4 practice pits on the grounds of the NCROC beef cattle unit. A mix of parent materials was present on site, including Des Moines lobe glacial till, outwash, loess, glaciolacustrine sediments, and colluvium/local alluvium.
Our first pit, a glossudalf, had loess over outwash over glacial till and also featured a glossic horizon, a classic northern forest soil.
The second soil was located downslope from the first and it also featured three parent materials, with colluvium/local alluvium over outwash over glacial till. The horizonation was also complex, with a proto-spodic horizon over a glossic horizon over an argillic. Whew!
The third soil, which was located on the rim of a cattail marsh, had only a single parent material, silty glaciolacustrine sediments, and the least complex horizonation of the soils present on site.
The last soil was on a high summit which might lead one to think it was well-drained and a fairly simple profile - not true! The horizons were relatively clear, but a variety of different types of redoximorphic features were present throughout the 180cm of the profile. A very interesting pit.
Tomorrow we head to the Chippewa National Forest to look at some forested sites.
Today is the first day in the practice pits. We received our pit assignments yesterday evening. We were assigned 3 pits plus a bonus pit on the UMN North Central Research and Outreach Center beef cattle unit just south of Grand Rapids.
Beautiful weather greeted us on our first day in the field. The temps were nearly perfect, the skies were clear and bright, and the pits were relatively dry. Nic Jelinski provided us with 4 practice pits on the grounds of the NCROC beef cattle unit. A mix of parent materials was present on site, including Des Moines lobe glacial till, outwash, loess, glaciolacustrine sediments, and colluvium/local alluvium.
Our first pit, a glossudalf, had loess over outwash over glacial till and also featured a glossic horizon, a classic northern forest soil.
Photo 1: Sondra Larson, Teng Vang (in shadow), Andrea Williams, and Nick Vetsch marking horizons and collecting samples in the pits.
Photo 2: Captain Rusty Zimmerman intently coloring samples.
The second soil was located downslope from the first and it also featured three parent materials, with colluvium/local alluvium over outwash over glacial till. The horizonation was also complex, with a proto-spodic horizon over a glossic horizon over an argillic. Whew!
Photo 3: Nick Vetsch (r) and Teng Vang (l) working through the complex horizonation of Pit 2 while Luke Ratgen watches from above.
The third soil, which was located on the rim of a cattail marsh, had only a single parent material, silty glaciolacustrine sediments, and the least complex horizonation of the soils present on site.
Photo 4. The profile at Pit 3.
Photo 5. Assistant Coach Erik Schilling (r) reads out the official description. From left to right, Andrea Williams, Leslee Jackson, Sondra Larson, Luke Ratgen, Nick Vetsch, Rusty Zimmerman, Teng Vang, and Amanda Wolff check their scoresheets.
The last soil was on a high summit which might lead one to think it was well-drained and a fairly simple profile - not true! The horizons were relatively clear, but a variety of different types of redoximorphic features were present throughout the 180cm of the profile. A very interesting pit.
Tomorrow we head to the Chippewa National Forest to look at some forested sites.
Saturday, September 19, 2015
UMN Soil Judging 2015: Getting Ready
The semester has just barely begun and most students are easing into their coursework, trying to get back into the groove. It's a different story for the UMN Soil Judging Team members: they hit the semester at full stride in eager anticipation of the 2015 Region V Soil Judging Competition, which comes early this year!
The 2015 Region V Soil Judging Competition will be held from 20 September - 24 September, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The University of Minnesota will be the hosting and Nic Jelinski, our 2013 and 2014 Soil Judging Team Coach, will be running the contest. Consequently, I (Ed Nater) will be coaching the team this year. I'm very pleased to have Erik Schilling, former UMN Soil Judging Team member (2012 and 2013) and graduate of the University of Minnesota, as the Assistant Coach for the competition. Dan Wheeler, Instructor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate and Director of the UMN's Wetland Delineation Certification Program, will also join us later on in the week to help our Team hone their skills for the competition.
The 2015 Contest will be the 58th Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest, its longevity a testament to the importance of this experience for students! The depth of experience students gain preparing for and participating in these contests - a 4-day intensive immersion in reading landscapes, describing soil profiles and making land use interpretations - is unmatched by any other set of experiences they will have during their undergraduate degrees.
We head to Grand Rapids tomorrow and have the Welcome Dinner at 6:30 at the Sawmill Inn, where we'll be staying. We'll be in the practice pits Monday through Wednesday, the Team will be in the competition pits on Thursday, and the Awards Breakfast will be Friday morning. I and some of the team members will make regular posts to this blog throughout the competition. We hope you'll follow along and share the link with others interested in our team and their experiences.
Go Gophers!
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| 2015 UMN Soil Judging Team Logo |
The 2015 Region V Soil Judging Competition will be held from 20 September - 24 September, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The University of Minnesota will be the hosting and Nic Jelinski, our 2013 and 2014 Soil Judging Team Coach, will be running the contest. Consequently, I (Ed Nater) will be coaching the team this year. I'm very pleased to have Erik Schilling, former UMN Soil Judging Team member (2012 and 2013) and graduate of the University of Minnesota, as the Assistant Coach for the competition. Dan Wheeler, Instructor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate and Director of the UMN's Wetland Delineation Certification Program, will also join us later on in the week to help our Team hone their skills for the competition.
The 2015 Contest will be the 58th Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest, its longevity a testament to the importance of this experience for students! The depth of experience students gain preparing for and participating in these contests - a 4-day intensive immersion in reading landscapes, describing soil profiles and making land use interpretations - is unmatched by any other set of experiences they will have during their undergraduate degrees.
We head to Grand Rapids tomorrow and have the Welcome Dinner at 6:30 at the Sawmill Inn, where we'll be staying. We'll be in the practice pits Monday through Wednesday, the Team will be in the competition pits on Thursday, and the Awards Breakfast will be Friday morning. I and some of the team members will make regular posts to this blog throughout the competition. We hope you'll follow along and share the link with others interested in our team and their experiences.
Go Gophers!
Friday, October 3, 2014
2014 Region V Soil Judging: Day 6 - Results and Trip Home
Breakfast was provided for all students this morning by ISU at the Field Extension and Education Laboratory just west of Ames. Iowa State took most of the top individual scores as well as the top team score, followed by Kansas State and Nebraska. Minnesota had a number of individuals just outside of the top ten, an excellent showing for a team with only one returning member.
Although a spot in the top three teams would have been nice, we would have had to forfeit a spot at the National competition anyway, as 6 of our 8 judgers are graduating in December! We congratulate them on their accomplishments and wish them well as they start their careers.
The team also extends deep gratitude to Iowa State for organizing the competition, particularly Amber Anderson-Mba and Dr. Lee Burras.
As some final thoughts from a coach - this team was particularly closely knit, and provided a warm welcome for Ms. Gladness Brush, our special guest from Tanzania. The time that was spent together exploring the soils and landscapes of Iowa will not be forgotten.
The University of Minnesota will be hosting the Regional Contest in 2015. See you in the pits!
Although a spot in the top three teams would have been nice, we would have had to forfeit a spot at the National competition anyway, as 6 of our 8 judgers are graduating in December! We congratulate them on their accomplishments and wish them well as they start their careers.
The team also extends deep gratitude to Iowa State for organizing the competition, particularly Amber Anderson-Mba and Dr. Lee Burras.
As some final thoughts from a coach - this team was particularly closely knit, and provided a warm welcome for Ms. Gladness Brush, our special guest from Tanzania. The time that was spent together exploring the soils and landscapes of Iowa will not be forgotten.
The University of Minnesota will be hosting the Regional Contest in 2015. See you in the pits!
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| 2014 University of Minnesota Soil Judging Team (L-R): Nic Jelinski (Coach), Muhamed Ibrahim, Katie Ring, Mike Waldvogel, Jessica Beske, Jeff Tanaka (Captain), Kat LaBine, Rusty Zimmerman, Gladness Brush (Assistant Coach), Kalei Holt. |
Region V Soil Judging: Day 5 - Competition Day
The morning was foggy with a slight drizzle as the teams assembled and drove to the competition pits (which were right in Ames!). Students completed 2 individual pits in the morning:
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| (L - R) Mike Waldvogel, Muhamed Ibrahim, Rusty Zimmerman, Kat LaBine, Katie Ring, Jeff Tanaka, Kalei Holt and Jessica Beske wait for their pit assignments. |
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| Individual Pit #1 |
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| Individual Pit #2 |
With a 90% chance of rain in the afternoon, the teams ate lunch and moved sites to judge 3 team pits.
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| Team discussion at team pit #2. |
The team pits ended in a downpour - but the team was very tightly knit this year and nobody wanted to leave without a picture in the rain.
Tomorrow - back home to the Twin Cities!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Region V Soil Judging: Day 4 - Rhodes Farm, Southern Iowa Drift Plain
Today the team described a set of 4 practice pits on the Rhodes farm (ISU property), east of Collins, IA on the Southern Iowa Drift Plain, a loess-mantled landscape. It was raining heavily in the morning, so we spent an hour recapping all of the soils and landscapes we have seen this week. After driving to the Rhodes farm, we described two pits as individuals and one pit as a team. We began with a Hapludalf on a broad ridge:
Followed by a Endoaqualf in an upland drainageway:
And ended with a team judge of a Hapludalf on a backslope:
The team is motivated and ready to get into the pits for the competition tomorrow. Whatever weather may come, tomorrow will be a great day for Soil Judging!
Followed by a Endoaqualf in an upland drainageway:
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