In Field, Continuous, Non-Invasive Soil Carbon Scanning System
Project # AACH133
Primary Performing Organization
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Global warming is intensified by carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere from human activity. Some mitigation of these greenhouse gas emissions occurs continuously through the carbon uptake naturally achieved by the terrestrial ecosystem. The ability to accurately measure this mitigation effect remains an open question. This project is helping answer this question by developing a flexible, non-invasive scanning system for on-site monitoring and verification of changes in soil carbon over large areas and volumes. The scanning system being developed would permit monitoring below-ground carbon balances without disturbing the soil.
At present, carbon concentrations in soil are assessed indirectly using analytical models, and directly by taking core samples that are physically and chemically analyzed in laboratories. This approach is labor intensive, expensive, slow, and not amenable to scaling up analysis of soil carbon to global scales.
If successful, the proposed system will enable, for the first time, repetitive measurements of the same site, thus allowing sequential monitoring of large areas. The short-term objectives of present work are to construct a deployable prototype scanner for non-destructive soil carbon measurements in the field, and to perform calibration and field verification of the system. The long-term objective is to perform measurements in various soil types in which the soil carbon content is well characterized. See photographs.
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Contact:
Project Manager: Heino Beckert, heino.beckert@netl.doe.gov
Related Papers and Publications: