Soil images at nanoscale.

[Persephone]

At this URL:

is a fascinating article about soil viewed as never seen before

-- at nanoscale!

Persephone

[symplastless]

Thanks for the info. Two interesting well written articles about soil and trees are here: Thought you might enjoy them. They are written by a man who was a foremost authority on trees world wide. Or shall I say viewed by many, mostly those who looked through his microscope with him. Many refused.

It would be nice if they went to old growth forest and obtained optimal fertility levels for trees (species specific).

A Touch of Chemistry

in the Rhizosphere John A. Keslick, Jr. Consulting Tree Biologist Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology. Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us that we are not the boss. Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that will give them understanding.

[Billy]

Doesn't say what they saw, except it was with x-rays and it was way cool:-(

[Mary Fisher]

That was interesting but another page, about how tree ferns can soak up arsenic from contaminated land, was too. I was amused by the statement:

" ... ferns clean up contaminated soil by a process called phytoremediation. A contaminant -- like arsenic -- is absorbed through the plant's roots. The arsenic then moves up to the leaves where it's stored. The leaves can then be cut off. "

And then what? How do you dispose safely of the leaves??

Mary

[Steve]

LOL

[Persephone]

Yes, I saw that one, but wasn't sure if it would be of interest. After all, how many of us gardeners have arsenic-y land?

But now that the question has been raised, how/why DOES land become contaminated with arsenic? Any chemists around who might know whether it is a by-product of some industrial or milit ary process?

Inquiring minds...

Aspasia

>

[Billy]

20 incidents of groundwater arsenic contamination have been reported from all over the world. [2] Of these, four major incidents were in Asia, including locations in Thailand, Taiwan, and Mainland China.[3] [4] South American countries like Argentina and Chile have also been affected. There are also many locations in the United States where the groundwater contains arsenic concentrations in excess of the new Environmental Protection Agency standard of 10 parts per billion.

Arsenic is a carcinogen which causes many cancers including skin, lung, and bladder as well as cardiovascular disease.

[Omelet]

Where the hell is Arsenic coming from?

[Billy]

Mother Nature. Arsenic comes from the natural world. Arsenic is like copper, iron, boron. It just is. Sometimes, Mother Nature can be a bitch;-)

[Mary Fisher]

And I'd still like to know how the fern leaves can be disposed of safely :-)

Mary

[Billy]

So would the EPA. At present, a clay lined pit seems to be the only answer. Sequestering arsenic with iron can remove/reduce arsenic from drinking water but the arsenic becomes mobile again with time:-(

[Omelet]

I see. :-)

[Persephone]

Do you believe this poster? "Arsenic comes from the natural world". Yeah, but how is it used in the "un-natural" world?

Try doing a Web search with keywords like "industry. military and agribusiness uses of arsenic".

Just ONE hit:

one more:

Persephone

[Billy]

Can anyone believe you are just asking about arsenic exposure? You challenge my statement, then you agree with me? I was writing about arsenic in ground water and you want to deprecate my character for that? OK.

If you want to expand the parameters of your search, why don't you include Googling arsenic and flying saucers, my identity challenged little friend? Who are we today, Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring, or Aspasia, the brothel keeper and harlot?

ALL RIGHT! Don't forget to hold your breath.

While she is quiet, you might Google

with nice color graphs, it shows that we have been dragging arsenic, in the form of treated lumber into our back yards for years, until 2003. A lot of children's playground equipment is made with treated lumber which contaminates their hands, and as children do, there hands end up in their mouths. Not good. Agriculture is another source of arsenic, from pesticides to animal feed(???!). If your aquifer, is contaminated by a land fill that could be another source of asenic. I'm not sure what the military use of arsenic would be, they already have "depleted uranium" to play with, but it certainly would be a consideration (especially when you think of all the perchlorate (rocket fuel) that has found its' way into our lettuce). Then, of course, there is always the Roswell connection.

You know it's not really research when you predetermine the outcome and then only use facts that support your position. QED my tuchus.