George Demas (April 28, 1958 – December 23, 1999) was an American pedologist whose pioneering studies of

subaqueous soil Subaqueous soils are soils formed in sediment found in shallow, permanently flooded environments or soils in any areas permanently covered by water too deep for the growth of rooted plants. The study of subaqueous soils is a relatively new field i ...

contributed to the understanding of

soil formation Soil formation, also known as pedogenesis, is the process of soil genesis as regulated by the effects of place, environment, and history. Biogeochemical processes act to both create and destroy order ( anisotropy) within soils. These alteration ...

and the expansion of the concept of soil.

USDA soil taxonomy USDA soil taxonomy (ST) developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and the National Cooperative Soil Survey provides an elaborate Soil classification, classification of soil types according to several parameters (most commonly their p ...

was revised as a result. Born in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, he earned a B.S. in

Soil Science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, soil classification, classification and Soil survey, mapping; Soil physics, physical, Soil chemistry, chemical, Soil biology, biologica ...

from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

in 1980 followed by an

M.S. A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medicine ...

in soil genesis in 1982. He earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the University of Maryland in 1998. His thesis “Subaqueous soils of Sinepatuxent Bay, MD” earned two awards

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

- Secretary's Honor Award for Scientific Research, and

Soil Science Society of America The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), is the largest soil-specific society in the United States. It was formed in 1936 from the merger of the Soils Section of the American Society of Agronomy and the American Soil Survey Association. The So ...

(SSSA) - The Emil Truog Award for outstanding contribution to Soil Science. George Demas worked as a soil surveyor for the

Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

in the states of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

from 1982 to 1994. During this time he determined that submerged sediments function in the landscape sufficiently similar to

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

s to be indistinguishable. Soil Survey Horizons published his concept in 1993. He returned to the University of Maryland and researched his ideas from 1994 to 1998. He resumed his duties with USDA-NRCS and continued working until his death in 1999 after contracting

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. The subaqueous soils field continues to grow with expanded graduate studies in Rhode Island and Maine as well as at the University of Maryland.

References

George Demas Elected as Honorary Member of MAPSS

Published works

*Demas, G. P. 1993. Submerged soils: a new frontier in soil survey. Soil Survey Horizons 34: 44–46. *Demas, G. P., M. C. Rabenhorst, and J. C. Stevenson. 1996. Subaqueous Soils: A pedological approach to the study of shallow water habitats. Estuaries 19: 229–237. *Demas, G. P., and M. C. Rabenhorst. 1998. Subaqueous soils: a resource inventory protocol. Proceedings of the 16th World Congress on Soil Science, Montpellier, France. August 20–26, 1998. Sym #17, on CD. *Demas, G. P., and M. C. Rabenhorst. 1999. Subaqueous soils: pedogenesis in a submersed environment. Soil Sci. Soc. Am J. 63: 1250–1257. *Demas, G. P., and M. C. Rabenhorst. 2001. Factors of Subaqueous Soil Formation: a System of Quantitative Pedology for Submersed Environments. Geoderma. 102:189-204 {{DEFAULTSORT:Demas, George 1958 births 1999 deaths American earth scientists Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland American soil scientists University of Maryland, College Park alumni People from Snow Hill, Maryland Pedologists