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Summer School: Assessment of Tropical Forest and Soil Resources

The EAG is proud to co-sponsor the Summer School Assessment of Tropical Forest and Soil Resources, taking place in Fort Portal, Uganda, on 19-24 August 2024.

This summer school aims to increase the knowledge base of future leaders of African Research Institutions on monitoring, maintaining, and restoration of soil fertility and plant growth in tropical cropland and forests.

The EAG directly supports student attendance at this event, with a contribution of €10,000.

Through a series of hands-on workshops, participants will get familiar with state-of-the-art tools and approaches for assessing land use change effects on plant-soil systems in tropical regions.

Workshops will include:

  1. Digging Deep: Assessing depth-explicit soil features using percussion drilling
  2. Lighting Up Soils: Using low-cost infrared spectroscopy to analyze soils
  3. Plants And Soil Through New Eyes: Remote and proximal sensing for vegetation monitoring and soil erosion modelling
  4. To Tree or Not To Tree? 
  5. Just a Load of Hot Air! Measuring in-situ greenhouse gas fluxes across land-use systems

Find out more about each workshop

Apply to attend 

Eligibility:

African nationals which are Students, Researchers, and Technicians working at Universities and Research Institutions. Priority is given to scholars affiliated with African institutions.
Applicants must have a Master’s degree or nearing completion of a Master’s degree in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Deadline: 31 March 2024 

EAG-GS Outreach Program

The EAG-GS Outreach Program is a partnership between the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry, with the directive of developing outreach activities in geochemistry in under-represented regions of the world.

Outreach Lecturer: Sebastian Doetterl

Sebastian Doetterl is a physical geographer with a special focus on soil development. He is working as an Assistant Professor (tenure-track) for Soil Resources at ETH Zurich’s Department of Environmental Systems Science since 2019, is the group leader of the DFG funded Emmy Noether research group “TropSOC” and co-founder of the Congo Biogeochemistry Observatory. Doetterl is especially passionate about engaging stakeholders, decision makers and scientists in the Global South to profit from and advance our knowledge of biogeochemical cycles in tropical environments. With this, he contributes towards a better understanding of tropical soil systems and how these differ from temperate regions, where most of our knowledge is derived from.

His research is oriented towards carbon and nutrient dynamics across geo-climatic gradients with a focus on the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on soil development. He is particularly interested in helping to bridge the gap between process understanding from experimental data to model development and spatial representation of biogeochemical cycles. He has been working on soil development and its consequences for biogeochemical cycles in a large variety of ecosystems, including large scale gradients and chronosequences, with his latest focusing being on tropical African landscapes.

Lectures, locations and dates

As part of the EAG-GS Outreach Program, Dr. Doetterl will give two connected lectures on the role of biogeochemistry and soil development in complex tropical landscapes for carbon and nutrient cycling. A special emphasis will be given on the rapid land cover changes we are observing in tropical Africa as population grows, and climate as well as land management changes.

The first lecture will focus on the role of pedogenesis for understanding today’s soil landscapes and their properties in tropical and subtropical Africa with a focus on natural ecosystems. This lecture will illustrate how soil development can govern and control carbon input, turnover and stabilization in soils and how ecosystems adapt towards but also shape the properties of tropical soils.

The second lecture will focus on the emergence of new soil landscapes and their relevance for biogeochemical cycles in the 21st century and beyond with a special focus on tropical Africa. Emphasis will be given on the effects of land conversion for soil biogeochemistry and soil fertility, how these effects differ across soil types and landforms and how knowledge on soil biogeochemistry can help us to improve cropland management but also reforestation.

Each lecture is about 90 minutes long. Participants are invited to reach out to the lecturer for an extended discussion afterwards.

Date Institution Location
1-2 November 2022 World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), University of Eldoret Nairobi, Kenya
3-4 November 2022 University of Nairobi Nairobi, Kenya
9-11 November 2022 University of Rwanda Kigali, Rwanda
14 March 2023 Mountain of the Moon University Fort Portal, Uganda
20 December 2023 Lubumbashi University – Online Lubumbashi, D.R. Congo
22-23 January 2024 Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Juja, Kenya
24-25 January 2024 University of Embu Embu, Kenya
tbd Makerere University Kampala, Uganda
Cancelled Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources Lilongwe, Malawi

Sebastian Doetterl discussing with students at the University of Rwanda.

Past Outreach Programs

2019 Outreach Program to Africa

Outreach Lecture Tour

2019 Outreach Lecturer: Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane (Hassan II University of Casablanca)

Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane is a Moroccan scientist in the fields of Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences and Geochemistry, and is Professor at the Hassan II University of Casablanca, Director of the GAIA Laboratory and Coordinator of the Centre of Research on Geo-ressources and Environment. Hasnaa was the first woman to graduate in Meteoritics in Morocco and Arabic countries. She obtained her first PhD, in Noble Gas Geochemistry, from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie Paris 6, France, and defended her “Thèse d’état” on Meteoritics at the Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco. Read more

Locations and dates

Hasnaa presented a series of workshops and seminars on meteoritics and planetary sciences in universities and institutes across Africa in 2019.

  • 28 January 2019: Seminar: Morocco and Mauritania meteorites: A large contribution to meteoritics and planetary sciences download abstract
    University of Nouakchott & l’Institut Français de Mauritania, Nouakchott, Mauritania
  • 17 March 2019: Workshop: Meteorites of Morocco and the Arab world
    National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt
  • 29-30 November 2019: Seminars on ‘Meteorites in Morocco and Arab countries‘ and Workshop on identification of meteorites
    Cité des Sciences de Tunis and Faculty of Science of Tunis, Tunisia

            

EAG Co-Sponsorship of the 6th SGA-SEG-UNESCO-IUGS Short Course on African Metallogeny

“Gold Deposits: from Exploration to Mining”

Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, 28 October – 1 November 2019

This five-day short course on gold deposits, exploration and mining was held at the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Yamassoukro, Ivory Coast. It was addressed to researchers, lecturers, PhD students, geologists from exploration, mining companies and government institutions, and was composed of 2.5 days of lectures and 2 days of field excursion (Yaoure gold mine and surroundings). EAG made grants available to support the attendance of students and young researchers.

2018 Outreach Program to Africa

Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences

AFIPS_150As part of the 2018 Outreach Program to Africa, the European Association of Geochemistry (EAG) and the Geochemical Society (GS) co-sponsored the Africa Initiative for Planetary and Space Sciences (AFIPS), whose objectives are:

  • to connect African Planetary and Space Scientists with their international peers;
  • to build a road map for Planetary and Space Sciences in Africa, by identifying key research areas where African scientists can make significant contributions;
  • to solicit sponsors to support the development of this research domain in Africa;
  • to contribute to sustainable development in Africa through research, education, and public outreach in Planetary and Space sciences.

An article on the activities of AFIPS initiative, written by the AFIPS Steering Committee, was published in the February 2018 issue of Elements Magazine.

As part of the initiative, two workshops were organised with financial support from the EAG and GS:

2017 Outreach Program to Africa

Outreach Lecturer: Axel Hofmann

Associate Professor, Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Axel Hofmann holds a doctorate from the University of Mainz in Germany and has worked as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Wits University in Johannesburg and the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. His main interest and expertise is centred on the Archaean geological record of southern Africa. His research emphasizes the importance of field work and the usage of an integrated suite of petrological and geochemical tools in order to decipher the geological history of Archaean volcano-sedimentary successions. His research is undertaken at the interface between geology, geochemistry and geobiology, utilizing analytical equipment for in-situ trace element geochemistry, geochronology and (non-traditional) stable isotope geochemistry at the micro- and nano-scale, for the understanding of Archaean surface processes, early life and sediment-hosted mineral deposits.

 

Short course

Early Earth Life and Mineral Systems

 

Locations and dates

Date Institution Country
26-28 Apr 2017 University of Ghana Ghana
29 Nov – 1 Dec 2017 Addis Ababa University Ethiopia
5-8 Dec 2017 University of Dar-es-Salaam Tanzania
17-19 Jan 2018 Ahmadu Bello University Nigeria
22-24 Jan 2018 University of Ibadan Nigeria
25-29 Jan 2018 University of Lagos Nigeria

Photos from Ghana

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Axel Hofmann, students and professors at the University of Ghana

Ghana1

Axel Hofmann at the University of Ghana

Ghana2

The attentive audience at the University of Ghana

2015-16 Outreach Program to Africa

Outreach Lecturer: François Chabaux

François Chabaux is Full Professor of Geoscience and Geochemistry at the “Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre (EOST)” at the University of Strasbourg, France. Since 2000, he chairs the Isotope Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry team (co-chairs with D. Lemarchand since 2014). Currently, he heads the “Laboratoire d’Hydrologie et de Géochimie de Strasbourg” (LHyGES- Laboratory of Hydrology and Geochemistry of Strasbourg), which he founded in 2009 with his colleague P. Ackerer (Research Director, CNRS). Read more

Lectures and Workshops

  • Lecture: U Activity Ratios in Surface Waters as Tracers and Chronometers of Water Transfers in the Critical zone
  • Lecture: Interest of U-series nuclides for dating soils and weathering profiles: Principles, applications and limitations
  • Workshop: Principle of functioning and use of U-series nuclides in Earth Science
    View details

Locations and dates

Date Institution Location
16-20 Nov 2015 Département des Sciences de la Terre, University of Yaoundé I Cameroon
5-9 Dec 2016 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Antanavarivo Madagascar

 

Photos from Cameroon

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François Chabaux and the Earth Sciences Department at University of Yaoundé I

The very attentive audience of the Earth Sciences Department, University of Yaoundé I

The very attentive audience of the Earth Sciences Department, University of Yaoundé I

2014 Outreach Program to Africa

Outreach Lecturer: Pierre Deschamps

Pierre Deschamps is Research Scientist at IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and he is currently working in the Geochemistry and Geochronology Group at CEREGE (European Centre of Research and Teaching in Environmental Sciences).
His fields of expertise cover isotopic geochemistry and geochronology by using a large range of isotopic tracers, including U-Th and U-Pb chronometers and cosmonuclides (14C, 36Cl, 10Be). He uses this isotopic toolbox in studies ranging from Earth surface processes, human evolution to quaternary climate change. For the last years, a large part of his research has been carried out on the African continent and has focused on the past climate variability and its impact on hydrological cycle, including groundwater. Read more

Lectures and seminars:

Locations and dates

Date Institution Location Program
20-21-22 August
2 Sept
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Antanavarivo Madagascar Groundwater dating: the isotopic toolbox
Sea-level variations: past, present and future
6-7 November Institut des Sciences Halieutiques à Yabassi, University of Douala Cameroon Climate Change and its impact on the African continent
Sea-level variations: past, present and future
10-12 November Département des Sciences de la Terre, University of Dschang Cameroon Climate Change and its impact on the African continent
Groundwater dating: the isotopic toolbox
17-19 November Département des Sciences de la Terre, University of Yaoundé I Cameroon Groundwater dating: the isotopic toolbox
Climate Change and its impact on the African continent
1-5 December University of N’Djamena Chad Groundwater dating: the isotopic toolbox
19-22 January University Abdou Moumouni of Niamey Niger Groundwater dating: the isotopic toolbox
Climate Change and its impact on the African continent

2013 Outreach Program to Africa

Outreach Lecturer: Bernhard Wehrli

Bernhard Wehrli is Full Professor for Aquatic Chemistry at the Department of Environmental Sciences at ETH Zurich. He is a member of the directorate of Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag).

The research of his group is focused on the assessment of biogeochemical processes in rivers and lakes. The group combines chemical sensors, stable isotope techniques and molecular ecology to quantify carbon and nutrient cycles in aquatic systems. Part of his research is focused on the development of interdisciplinary approaches to improve the sustainable management of water resources. Read more

Lectures and seminars abstracts:

Location and dates

Dates and Institutions Program

11-12 Jun 2013

University of Addis Ababa

ETHIOPIA

Lecture topic:

  • In search or rare elements: mining for cell phones

Seminar topics:

  • Global water quality issues
  • Water and nutrient supply for agriculture

17-18 Jun 2013

University of Antanavarivo

MADAGASCAR

Lecture topic:

  • In search or rare elements: mining for cell phones

Seminar topic:

  • Stable isotope techniques for analyzing geochemical processes

02-03 Sep 2013

University of Yaoundé I

CAMEROON

Lecture topic:

  • Where oxygen disappears: the deep waters of East African lakes

Seminar topic:

  • Stable isotope techniques for analyzing geochemical processes

05-06 Sep 2013

University of Legon

GHANA

Lecture topics:

  • In search or rare elements: mining for cell phones
  • Chemistry for safer drinking water

Seminar topic:

  • Stable isotope techniques for analyzing geochemical processes

10-11 Sep 2013

University of Nairobi

KENYA

Lectures topics:

  • Chemistry for safer drinking water
  • In search or rare elements: mining for cell phones

Seminar topics:

  • Stable isotope techniques for analyzing geochemical processes
  • Chemical sensors, analytical chemistry