Assuming that when ocean islands formed by the eruption of a volcano
(Hawaii...Pitcairn for example) get the soil or earth needed for
plants/vegetation/trees to grow in...well, how do they get it?  I'm
assuming that when they are formed they are barren of soil
(earth...possibly sand?) but this, of course, may be incorrect.  I
read that such volcano-formed islands support vegetation--how is that
possible.  I wouldn't think soil could get there from other lands in
any significant amounts when such brand-new islands are hundreds of
miles from other land and how it could get there across an ocean
anyway?  Can you direct me to sites that discuss how it works in
detail?  (If you get this question twice, that is an unintentional
mistake on my part.)

Hello wumply-ga,

What a fun question! I?ve been to the Big Island of Hawaii and watched
lava pouring into the sea after driving over multiple lava flows of
varying ages and being amazed at how quickly vegetations seems to
erupt in the black and seemingly barren fields.

I was caught up in the wonderful resources available on the Web to
help you explore this subject. The first link I?ve provided gives you
the nutshell answer. The second link provides you with an elementary
school lesson plan that explores exactly the question you asked. It
even provides a video that you can download for free. The rest of the
links are arranged in order of greater complexity from college courses
to scientific reports.

I hope you?ll enjoy continuing your research as much as I did locating
these links for you.

All the best.

~ czh ~



http://wvlc.uwaterloo.ca/biology447/modules/module8/soil/chap2a.htm
A. Soil Formation and Evolution

Soil formation is a process taking many thousands of years starting
from volcanic, sedimentary or metamorphic rock materials. The process
can be seen in operation at an early stage on recently formed volcanic
islands in Iceland or the Pacific Ocean. Colonization by airborne
microorganisms, plant seeds, insects, visits by migratory birds, etc.
occurs quite rapidly after cooling and leads to primary colonization
by plants suited to bare rocks (lichens and some mosses). This is
followed by decay of plant materials and development of a thin organic
layer on the rock. Wind, rain, snow, and freezing/thawing cycles will
cause erosion and rock fracturing leading to more colonization and
physical breakdown of the rock materials. From this "Parent Rock
Material" (the original rocks), soil will be formed by the
interactions of climate, soil, vegetation and soil fauna. After
thousands of years, the upper layers of the rocks will be converted
into soils of many different types.

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http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/earthspace/about/materials.html
Essential Science for Teachers: Earth and Space Science is a video
course for grade K-6 teachers, consisting of eight video programs, a
print guide, and this Web site. Use these components for professional
development in two-hour weekly group sessions, or on your own. ?
Participation in this workshop is free, but you must register with the
Annenberg/CPB Channel.

http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/earthspace/about/
Session 1.Earth's Solid Membrane: Soil

How does soil appear on a newly formed, barren volcanic island? In
this session, participants explore how soil develops, its composition
and structure, its role in certain Earth processes, and its place in
the structure Earth.

http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/essential/earthspace/session1/index.html
Video Overview

Dirt? earth? soil? it forms where Earth?s rocky crust meets the
atmosphere. Although it is common to everyday experience, people are
often surprised at the complex nature of soil. In this session,
participants will explore the processes of soil formation by examining
how soil appears on a newly formed, barren volcanic island.  ? View
the video ==>

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http://soil.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
Soil Science Education

http://ltpwww.gsfc.nasa.gov/globe/soilform/weather.htm
Soil Forming Factors

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http://www.valdosta.edu/~grissino/geol3710/soil10.htm\
http://www.valdosta.edu/~grissino/geol3710/soil11.htm
Introduction to Soil Science
Lecture 10 - 11 -- Processes of soil formation I

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http://www.geosciences.unl.edu/~mholmes/odp144.htm
Northwest Pacific Atolls and Guyots

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http://www.darwin-literature.com/Volcanic_Islands/index.html
Read Charles Darwin's Volcanic Islands free online! Click on any of
the links on the right menubar to browse through Volcanic Islands.

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http://www.airies.or.jp/publication/ger/pdf/06-2-09.pdf
Soil Development in Volcanic Ash

http://ag.arizona.edu/swes/chorover_lab/pdf_papers/Chorover_et_al_2004.pdf
Chorover, J., M.K. Amistadi, and O.A. Chadwick. 2004. Surface charge
evolution of mineral-organic complexes during pedogenesis in Hawaiian
basalt. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 68:4859-4876




SEARCH STRATEGY

volcanic island soil formation
"volcanic islands"  soil formation

Hey...it's always exciting when I bump into someone who shares my
delight and enthusiasm as you clearly did about this question!!!  I
read the brief (initial) answer with excitement.  And now I've the
other sites to look up and explore...so I'm now at 'HOO-RAH--like Al
Pacino in Scent Of A Woman.

Very fine dust can remain air borne for months in Earth's upper
atmosphere, and can travel half way around the Earth. A small portion
of this dust is from shooting stars = chunks of rock, metal and ice
that collide with Earth. It is important as it contains trace elements
the plants and tiny animals need.   Neil