Research Briefs

Environmental Science · Environmental Engineering

Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing

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Abstract editorial illustration accompanying the article: Sun angle and rough soil, not wetness, drive changing satellite soil colors
Climate & Environment

Sun angle and rough soil, not wetness, drive changing satellite soil colors

Satellite images often average bare-soil data over long periods, but the colors can change even under similar conditions. Using seven years of Landsat 8 and Sentinel-2 reflectance data from more than 27,000 European sites, researchers found that changes in solar angle interacting with rough bare soil explain most of the temporal variation, while surface moisture contributes less.

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Abstract editorial illustration accompanying the article: Rain “pulses” after drought drive nitrogen gas spikes more than soil type
Biology

Rain “pulses” after drought drive nitrogen gas spikes more than soil type

Mediterranean dryland crops face cycles of drought and then sudden rain. In a year-long field experiment, researchers found that the biggest bursts of nitrogen pollution in the form of nitrous oxide and nitric oxide followed rewetting, especially when plants had been stressed by drought. Soil texture changed how much inorganic nitrogen built up, but it did not lead to proportionally larger gas spikes.

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