'Soilsmology': seismic breakthrough in mapping soil health

An innovative soil-health measuring technique could help avert famine and drought, scientists have said.

- Helena Horton Environment reporter

Currently, scientists have to dig lots of holes to study the soil, which is time-consuming and damages its structure, making the sampling less accurate.

Soil experts have now convened the Earth Rover programme, which uses seismology - a technology used for measuring down through the Earth's crust, understanding earthquakes and detecting hydrocarbons - to assess soil for the first time.

The team's geophysicists and soil scientists call this technique "soilsmology" and aim to finely map the world's living soils. To do it, they place a piece of metal on the soil, hit it with a hammer and measure the waves. These bounce back off hard surfaces such as rocks or compacted soil, and travel through the structure of holes made by earthworms and microorganisms, to provide a fine-grained map of what is happening underground.

The waves can also be affected by the dryness of the soil, so can detect when more water is needed and the extent of microbial life so farmers know when to add more organic matter.