Related topics: water
Soil
hideSoil is a natural body consisting of layers (soil horizons) of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes that include weathering and erosion. Soil differs from its parent rock due to interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the biosphere. It is a mixture of mineral and organic constituents that are in solid, gaseous and aqueous states. Soil particles pack loosely, forming a soil structure filled with pore spaces. These pores contain sol solution (liquid) and air (gas). Accordingly, soils are often treated as a three state system. Most soils have a density between 1 and 2 g/cm³. Soil is also known as earth: it is the substance from which our planet takes its name. Little of the soil composition of planet Earth is older than Tertiary and most no older than Pleistocene. In engineering, soil is referred to as regolith, or loose rock material.
For more information about Soil, read the full article at
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News tagged with soil
Phoenix Mars Lander Confirms Martian Water
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 31, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (88) |
22
(PhysOrg.com) -- Laboratory tests aboard NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander have identified water in a soil sample. The lander's robotic arm delivered the sample Wednesday to an instrument that identifies vapors produced ...
Climate trouble may be bubbling up in far north
Aug 30, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (77) |
27
(AP) -- Only a squawk from a sandhill crane broke the Arctic silence - and a low gurgle of bubbles, a watery whisper of trouble repeated in countless spots around the polar world.
Super-size deposits of frozen carbon threat to climate change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jun 30, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (60) |
11
The vast amount of carbon stored in the arctic and boreal regions of the world is more than double that previously estimated, according to a study published this week.
Mars explorer says we'll find life on other planets within 10 years
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 21, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (44) |
11
Within 10 years, we'll find life outside Earth -- that's the prediction of Peter Smith, the University of Arizona professor who led NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission.
Life on Mars theory boosted by new methane study
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Dec 08, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (31) |
11
Scientists have ruled out the possibility that methane is delivered to Mars by meteorites, raising fresh hopes that the gas might be generated by life on the red planet, in research published tomorrow in Earth an ...
Martian soil may contain detrimental substance
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 05, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (30) |
6
Scientists are analyzing results from soil samples delivered several weeks ago to science instruments on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander to understand the landing site's soil chemistry and mineralogy.
Researchers explain mystery of gravity fingers
Dec 11, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (23) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at MIT recently found an elegant solution to a sticky scientific problem in basic fluid mechanics: why water doesn't soak into soil at an even rate, but instead forms what look ...
Global warming is changing organic matter in soil
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 24, 2008 |
2.9 / 5 (33) |
7
(PhysOrg.com) -- New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth.
Scientists see water ice in fresh meteorite craters on Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 24, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (16) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are seeing sub-surface water ice that may be 99 percent pure halfway between the north pole and the equator on Mars, thanks to quick-turnaround observations from orbit of fresh ...
Crop Residue May Be Too Valuable to Harvest for Biofuels
Jul 15, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (17) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- In the rush to develop renewable fuels from plants, converting crop residues into cellulosic ethanol would seem to be a slam dunk.
Earthworm activity can alter forests' carbon-carrying capabilities
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Oct 27, 2008 |
4.3 / 5 (16) |
0
Earthworms can change the chemical nature of the carbon in North American forest litter and soils, potentially affecting the amount of carbon stored in forests, according to Purdue University researchers.
Dried mushrooms slow climate warming in Northern forests
Biology /
Nov 03, 2008 |
3.9 / 5 (17) |
1
The fight against climate warming has an unexpected ally in mushrooms growing in dry spruce forests covering Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and other northern regions, a new UC Irvine study finds.
Researchers show small robots can prepare lunar surface for NASA outpost
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 25, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (13) |
13
(PhysOrg.com) -- Small robots the size of riding mowers could prepare a safe landing site for NASA's Moon outpost, according to a NASA-sponsored study prepared by Astrobotic Technology Inc. with technical ...
A hard rain's gonna fall: Analysis shows climate change to yield more extreme rainfall
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 17, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (15) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- Heavier rainstorms lie in our future. That's the clear conclusion of a new MIT and Caltech study on the impact that global climate change will have on precipitation patterns.
Replacing corn with perennial grasses improves carbon footprint of biofuels
Biology /
Dec 02, 2008 |
4.6 / 5 (12) |
0
Converting forests or fields to biofuel crops can increase or decrease greenhouse gas emissions, depending on where – and which – biofuel crops are used, University of Illinois researchers report this month.
