Search results for " Regolith"

Do soils exist outside Earth?

2010

Abstract On Earth, soils form thanks to the combined action of at least five factors: parent rock, climate, topography, biota, and time. However, the necessity of biota as unavoidable soil forming factor is debated, as important parts of our planet experiencing extreme climates host virtually life-free soils with advanced horizonation. Now that space exploration has greatly expanded our understanding of the Solar System, providing consistent evidences that the loose, unconsolidated "skin" of some nearby rocky bodies is lifeless, it is time to establish if the latter can be considered to be soil in a pedological sense. Our feeling is that, since the concept of soil chiefly bases on the occur…