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.
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News tagged with soil
Spacesuits with artificial intelligence may look for life on Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Astronauts may in future be wearing spacesuits equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital eyes, turning them into what the researchers call cyborg astrobiologists.
Early hominid first walked on two legs in the woods
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Oct 08, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
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Among the many surprises associated with the discovery of the oldest known, nearly complete skeleton of a hominid is the finding that this species took its first steps toward bipedalism not on the open, grassy ...
Chemical from Soil Bacteria Shows Potential Neuron Toxicity; Has Possible Parkinson's Implications
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 06, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A chemical produced by common soil bacteria may kill neurons that produce dopamine, according to an article authored by University of Alabama researchers publishing Oct. 6. Dopamine neuron demise leads to ...
Scientists see water ice in fresh meteorite craters on Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 24, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (16) |
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(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 ...
Mars explorer says we'll find life on other planets within 10 years
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 21, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (44) |
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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.
Researchers show small robots can prepare lunar surface for NASA outpost
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Feb 25, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (12) |
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 ...
Martian soil may contain detrimental substance
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 05, 2008 |
4.4 / 5 (30) |
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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.
Phoenix Mars Lander Confirms Martian Water
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 31, 2008 |
4.8 / 5 (88) |
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(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 ...
Variable Temperatures Leave Insects wtih a Frosty Reception
Nov 25, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For the first time, scientists at The University of Western Ontario have shown that insects exposed to repeated periods of cold will trade reproduction for immediate survival.
Bacterial 'ropes' tie down shifting Southwest
Nov 17, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (5) |
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Researchers from Arizona State University have discovered that several species of microbes (cyanobacteria), at least one found prominently in the deserts of the Southwest, have evolved the trait of rope-building ...
Plants prefer their kin, crowd out competition from strangers
Nov 16, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Plants don't mind sharing space with their kin but when they're potted with strangers of the same species they start invigorating their leaves, a study by McMaster University reveals.
Tiny bubbles clean oil from water
Nov 16, 2009 |
4 / 5 (3) |
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Small amounts of oil leave a fluorescent sheen on polluted water. Oil sheen is hard to remove, even when the water is aerated with ozone or filtered through sand. Now, a University of Utah engineer has developed ...
A Tale of Planetary Woe (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (11) |
5
Once upon a time — roughly four billion years ago — Mars was warm and wet, much like Earth. Liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in long rivers that emptied into shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed ...
Ants are friendly to some trees, but not others
Nov 06, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
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Tree-dwelling ants generally live in harmony with their arboreal hosts. But new research suggests that when they run out of space in their trees of choice, the ants can get destructive to neighboring trees.
Climate Change, Nitrogen Loss Threaten Plant Life in Arid Desert Soils
Nov 05, 2009 |
3 / 5 (9) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In the Mojave Desert winds howl across this hottest place in North America, blowing sands across Death Valley and through empty ghost towns, swirling across treeless land for hundreds of miles. ...
