TerraForms is a group of platforms using synthetic soil environments and microfluidics technologies for investigating hydrobiogeochemical processes.
Arunima Bhattacharjee is one of the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory staff scientists leading TerraForms. This includes the custom creation of synthetic habitats to study soils. Among them are devices created using a UV curable biocompatible epoxy and they’re super thin—200 um or less, which makes them compatible with high resolution optical microscopy imaging.
Newswise — Understanding biogeochemical interactions is important to mitigating climate change and improving crop production. However, studying soil in its natural state is challenging because of its complex composition and opacity.
Scientists at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) developed a group of platforms known as TerraForms to provide users with an avenue for investigating hydrobiogeochemical processes. Through TerraForms, researchers use custom-designed synthetic environments, microfluidics technologies, and in-house instrumentation to simulate soil properties and visualize soil microbial and plant community dynamics.
These platforms enable core sample replication, optical imaging, chemical analysis, and statistical imaging processing and analysis. The capabilities can be paired with EMSL’s chemical imaging and mass spectrometry instrumentation and multi-omics technologies. All are available to researchers through the EMSL User Program.
Listen to the Bonding Over Science podcast to learn more about TerraForms.
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Credit: Nathan Johnson | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Caption: TerraForms is a group of platforms using synthetic soil environments and microfluidics technologies for investigating hydrobiogeochemical processes.
Credit: Andrea Starr | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Caption: Arunima Bhattacharjee is one of the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory staff scientists leading TerraForms. This includes the custom creation of synthetic habitats to study soils. Among them are devices created using a UV curable biocompatible epoxy and they’re super thin—200 um or less, which makes them compatible with high resolution optical microscopy imaging.
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