Larsen awarded prestigious 3-year NASA New Investigator grant

The agricultural landscape south of Clear Lake, Iowa. The light-colored patches in plowed fields are areas where dark-colored, organic-rich topsoil has been lost to erosion. Image courtesy GoogleEarth.

Geologist and geochemist Dr. Isaac Larsen is used to tramping around in the dirt to conduct his soil research, but satellite photos of the Iowa farmhouse where he grew up have added a new dimension to the work, and he now has a grant from NASA to study soils in a whole new way, from space.

An expert in soil production, erosion, human impact and the evolution of the agricultural landscape, Larsen has been awarded a three-year, $265,000 New Investigator Program grant from NASA’s Earth Science Division, which supports innovative research by earth scientists early in their careers. Read more....