Fossil soils found to have high carbon content

Soils which formed on the Earth’s surface thousands of years ago and are now fossils buried deep underground are rich in carbon, new research shows.

The team, led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied soil fossils up to six-and-a-half meters deep around Nebraska, Kansas.

“It was assumed that there was little carbon in deeper soils. Most studies are done in only the top 30 centimetres. Our study is showing that we are potentially grossly underestimating carbon in soils,” said Erika Marin-Spiotta, who led the study.

This adds a new dimension to understanding the earth’s carbon cycle and has implications for climate change.