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airstrip that the United States built in the 1950s. In total, she completed 19 Antarctic field expeditions, including 12 as field leader. She and the other researchers placed soil climate monitoring stations in the
Antarctic, reporting to the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) programme, which measure the effects of climate change in the polar regions.
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In 1990, Balks, along with other soil scientists, started researching
Antarctica's permafrosts and its human environmental impact. When offered this role, she was sceptical as she did not believe that the Antarctic would have much soil to study. In her first project, she looked at soil from an
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From the mid 1990s to 2001, Balks was a member of the
Waikato Conservation Board. From 2000 to 2023, she was a member of the Crysol Working Group of the International Union of Soil Sciences, and was co-chair for two years. From 2008 to 2022, Balks represented New Zealand on the council of the
198:, where in 2019, she created its first Southern Hemisphere regional permafrost conference. Her other roles include being a founding member and secretary of the ANTPAS (Antarctic Permafrost and Soils), a member of the
244:, and so that Errol could study land surveying. They now live in Waikato and have their own nature reserve, where they have a breed of sheep that produces a fibre that Balks uses in a craft hobby.
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Committee of Place Naming in the Ross Sea Region of
Antarctica, and president of the New Zealand Society of Soil Science from 2018 to 2020. As of 2024, she is review editor of the
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397:"New Year Honours List 2024 - Citation for the New Zealand Antarctic Medal | Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC)"
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322:"Some effects of land treatment/disposal of New Zealand meat processing plant effluent on soil properties"
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Some effects of land treatment/disposal of New
Zealand meat processing plant effluent on soil properties
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Balks has a husband named Errol. Around the 1980s the two moved to
Dunedin due to Balks' work in
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from 1988 until she left in 2018, and mentored 10 Antarctic soil research graduate students.
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361:"New Year Honours 2024: Dr Megan Balks recognised for services to Antarctic soil science"
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150:(born 1960) is a New Zealand Antarctic soil scientist and former lecturer at the
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448:"Soils of Aotearoa New Zealand » Geoscience Society of New Zealand"
423:"Waikato Conservation Board appointments announced | Beehive.govt.nz"
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285:. World Soils Book Series. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
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In 2021, Balks and other two other researchers published the book
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Hewitt, Allan E.; Balks, Megan R.; Lowe, David J. (2021).
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Born in 1960, Balks was raised on a sheep farm in the
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489:Recipients of the New Zealand Antarctic Medal
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534:21st-century New Zealand women scientists
524:20th-century New Zealand women scientists
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452:Geoscience Society of New Zealand
282:The Soils of Aotearoa New Zealand
212:Food and Agriculture Organization
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174:honours degree in soil science.
359:Taylor, Dean (3 January 2024).
208:State of the World Soils Report
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219:Soils of Aotearoa New Zealand
204:New Zealand Geographic Board
200:Royal Society of New Zealand
509:New Zealand soil scientists
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230:New Zealand Antarctic Medal
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504:New Zealand women writers
291:10.1007/978-3-030-64763-6
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539:Massey University alumni
228:, Balks was awarded the
158:Early life and education
366:The New Zealand Herald
182:Balks lectured at the
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226:2024 New Year Honours
184:University of Waikato
152:University of Waikato
113:University of Waikato
77:University of Waikato
427:www.beehive.govt.nz
172:Bachelor of Science
403:. 30 December 2023
264:has a profile for
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109:Institutions
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473:Categories
457:26 January
432:26 January
407:25 January
372:25 January
308:References
210:of the UN
164:Wairarapa
57:Wairarapa
262:Scholia
224:In the
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178:Career
131:(1995)
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120:Thesis
101:Fields
86:Spouse
331:5 May
89:Errol
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295:ISBN
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