New analysis of soil moisture projections from climate models could help resolve a discrepancy between expected increases in aridity and precipitation over land.
soils
Posted inEditors' Vox
Tracing Water Through the Critical Zone
The authors of a recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics describe how isotope hydrology offers new insights into interactions at the interface between soil, vegetation, and the atmosphere.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Seeing Soil Moisture from the Sky
A recent paper in Reviews of Geophysics describes techniques for improving the spatial resolution of satellite data on soil moisture.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mysterious "Fairy Circles" Continue to Enchant Scientists
Researchers revisit an old theory about the ethereal patterns of vegetation that form in some arid landscapes.
Posted inNews
Tsunamis Leave a Telltale Chemical Trail
Researchers follow a trail of organic compounds in soil that reveals the 2011 Tohoku tsunami's path over the Japanese coastline, providing clues to how often tsunamis recur and where they travel.
Posted inNews
Soil Bacteria Could Help Absorb Natural Gas Leaks
For the first time, new research examines the response of terrestrial soil microbes to a massive natural gas blowout and offers hope for new remediation strategies.
Posted inNews
Map Reveals Hot Spots for Arctic Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By bringing together data on permafrost stability, soils, and other Arctic conditions, scientists have plotted where permafrost is vulnerable to collapse, which could release long-stored carbon.
Posted inScience Updates
Advancing Soil Carbon Cycle Science
Workshop to celebrate 2015–2024 International Decade of Soil; Boulder, Colorado, 14–16 March, 2016
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Carbon Dioxide Frost May Keep Martian Soil Dusty
Temperature readings acquired from orbit show that Mars's surface gets cold enough at night to allow layers of solid carbon dioxide frost up to several hundred micrometers thick to build up near the equator.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Curiosity Sends Curious Water Data from Mars
The rover's neutron spectroscopy instrument hints at an unexpected trend: The upper soil levels in the layers of Gale Crater's Kimberley formation seem to hold more water-associated hydrogen.