<
https://news.mongabay.com/2026/01/earth-rover-program-seeks-to-track-the-worlds-soil-health/>
"With a synchronized tap from run-of-the-mill hammers on metal plates resting
on the ground, researchers kneeling in nine fields across four continents
believe they’ve hit upon more than just the earth beneath their feet.
“Waiting for it,” someone said. And then, “Waveforms!”
“Excellent, waveforms!” another said, as the tiles on screen reveal EKG-like
sets of squiggles on laptops and smartphones from each of the locations.
The video promotes the Earth Rover Program, a new effort to glean critical
details about the soil from the way that a hammer tap tickles a set of sensors.
It’s early days for the project. But its global team is working to bring the
tools of seismology — known affectionately as “the science of the squiggle,”
said co-founder Simon Jeffery — to bear on teasing apart the global puzzle of
soil health.
Jeffery and his fellow founders, geophysicist Tarje Nissen-Meyer and journalist
George Monbiot, have staked out a far-reaching ambition to map soils with a
cost-effective technology. They say they hope the program will equip farmers
the world over with a better set of tools to grow crops and ensure that soils
will remain healthy long into the future."
Via Esther Schindler.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
