Researchers deploy geochemical analyses to narrow down the search area for a soil sample’s site of origin—an approach that could prove useful to law enforcement.
Soils
Posted inNews
Desert Life Conjures Organic Carbon from Thin Air
Without water, photosynthesis shuts down. To survive dry spells, desert microbes scavenge traces of hydrogen from the air and burn it for energy. Some even use hydrogen to fuel carbon fixation.
Posted inNews
Soil Saturation Dictates Africa’s Flood Severity
The most complete hydrological data set for the African continent reveals a surprise: Soil moisture, not heavy precipitation, best explains the timing of Africa’s most severe floods.
Posted inFeatures
Cores 3.0: Future-Proofing Earth Sciences’ Historical Records
Core libraries store a treasure trove of data about the planet’s past. What will it take to sustain their future?
Posted inNews
Amazon Forests Are Turning into Savannas
Floodplain forests have low resilience to repeated exposure to wildfires. As climate change increases the instances of fires, forests may transform to less productive grassland ecosystems.
Posted inNews
A Warming World Threatens Colombia’s Coffee Future
Colombia is the second-largest producer of Arabica coffee, but changing climate, soil, and precipitation patterns are already altering the harvest volume, production techniques, and even the taste of coffee.
Posted inNews
Turf’s Dirty Little Secret
Greenhouse gas emissions from sports fields may be scoring points for climate change.
Posted inNews
Soil Chips Help Scientists Spy on Fungal Navigation
Soil chips provide a micrometer-resolution window into life underfoot, shedding light on how fungi behave when navigating soil’s mazes.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Observing the Sun via Soil Moisture Measurements
Solar radio bursts are background noise for satellite-based radio observations that monitor soil moisture, so, with appropriate processing, those observations can provide data on radio bursts.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Exploring the Engine and Drivers of Soil Formation
A new book presents a multidisciplinary perspective on soil, exploring it as a nexus for water flow, near surface (bio)geochemistry, erosion and deposition, and biologically coupled nutrient cycling.