Our Ally Against Climate Change: Soils
How can scale and cause-and-effect relationships help to visualize complex topics in a 3D animation, such as greenhouse gas emissions from the soil microbiome? How can data graphics be integrated in a 3D animation in order to increase its information density?
The biology of soils plays an important role in global warming. Therefore, keeping soils healthy is a strategic contribution in the fight against climate change. In this project, I have created an animated movie clip for students, visualizing the interaction between soil and climate and the huge influence of human activities.
Educators often struggle when teaching complex processes because typically they have only two-dimensional
tools to teach in the classroom. Research on learning has demonstrated that visualizing such processes in three dimensions aids understanding. With the topic I also want to raise awareness on less mainstream environmental topics such as soils, which are equally important for achieving an environmentally sustainable future.
![Decomposition: Below the soil’s surface at a microscopic scale we see decomposition of organic matter by bacterial respiration, leading to carbon dioxide emission into the atmosphere.](/site/assets/files/3275/zhdk-design-967bvjct.1600x0.jpg 1600w,
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![Soil has three layers: topsoil, subsoil and parent material. Soil consists of approximately 45 % mineral matter and 25 % of each air and water plus 1-30 % of organic matter.](/site/assets/files/3275/zhdk-design-hzjbpmzl.1600x0.jpg 1600w,
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