Team develops new method of hunting for carbon in soil without digging or taking soil samples

Physicists and soil scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have teamed up to develop a new method for finding carbon stored in the soil by plants and microbes. Unlike all previous methods, this new technique makes it possible to see the carbon in the dirt without digging holes or taking soil samples, like an X-ray for the soil. This new method for measuring carbon pulled out of the air promises to be an important tool for fighting climate change and developing more ecologically friendly forms of agriculture.