DOE and USDA researchers use new global models to study how environmental controllers affect soil organic carbon, changes in which can alter atmospheric carbon concentrations and affect climate. Predictions could benefit industry mitigation plans.
Nature provides a myriad of ways to keep check on its health. One of the more successful indicators is the status of its soil organic carbon, or the concentration of carbon in the organic fraction of soil that consists of decaying vegetation or animal products. A small change in carbon levels can dramatically alter atmospheric carbon concentrations and affect climate.
“Soil organic carbon is important to study because it is the soil property that provides numerous ecosystem services to humanity, such as deactivating pollutants, conserving biodiversity, conserving and purifying water, increasing soil fertility, and mitigating climate change impacts,” said Umakant Mishra, a geospatial scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory.
Read more at DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Image: Argonne scientists were awarded $8 million from ARPA-E to partner with startup companies and help develop new types of advanced reactors with digital twin technology. From left to right: Emily Shemon, Rui Hu, and Temitope Taiwo (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)