The color of soil reflecting the Sun’s rays affects the Earth’s climate and water cycle. Using satellite data that senses many wavelengths improves soil reflectivity estimates, especially in deserts.
soils
Posted inNews
Soil Fungi May Be a Carbon Pool
New research suggests that mycorrhizal fungi take in 13 billion tons of carbon dioxide annually, playing a prominent role in Earth’s carbon cycle.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Air Flow Dynamics in Wet Soils: Challenges and Knowledge Gaps
Modeling air flow in wet porous media relies on quantifying the combined role of fluid and media properties and flow dynamics on the microscale displacement mechanisms and macroscale unstable flow.
Posted inFeatures
Agriculture 3.0: Preparing for a Drier Future in the Colorado River Basin
Years of drought and climate change are causing water resources to dwindle in the Colorado River Basin. But farmers and scientists are collaborating to learn how to grow crops with less water.
Posted inNews
Mosses Play Key Roles in Ecosystems from Tropics to Tundra
A global survey of mosses growing on soil found that the somewhat underappreciated plants cover a vast area and perform tasks such as sequestering carbon.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
La química de los corales refleja la expansión económica del sudeste asiático
La erosión del suelo derivada del desarrollo económico mueve sedimentos hacia el mar del sur de China y también hacia los esqueletos de los corales.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Climate Change Is Drying Out Earth’s Soils
Earth’s land is drying as it warms, but it is not clear how dry is too dry.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Danger in the Dust! The Hazards of Windblown Dust
Airborne dust not only causes disease, it also menaces transportation on land, sea, and air; disrupts renewable energy systems; transports pathogens and toxic substances; and poses many other hazards.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Dust in the (Martian) Wind
The InSight Lander, on Mars, intentionally dumped sand over its seismic instrument’s tether and the wind sorted the particles by size as it blew them away.