Embodiments of the present invention provide a portable bioelectrochemical electrical signal measuring device that may have at least one anode, at least one cathode, an anode-cathode connector between said at least one anode and said at least one cathode, a load connector between a load and said at least one anode and at least one cathode, and a data meter connected to said load connector wherein the device may measure an electrical signal of a matrix to perhaps determine the microbial activity in the matrix.

An apparatus for controlling acid-rock reaction includes a first reactor, a second reactor connected to the first reactor and configured to produce a spent acid through reaction of a rock with an acid aqueous solution and to introduce the spent acid into the first reactor, the first reactor being configured to react a rock disk with the spent acid introduced from the second reactor, a sample extractor connected to the first reactor and configured to extract, from the first reactor, a predetermined amount of the spent acid reacting with the rock disk in the first reactor, and a data acquisition device configured to acquire temperature and pressure data of the first reactor and the second reactor and control the first reactor and the second reactor based on he acquired temperature and pressure data of the first reactor and the second reactor.

In various embodiments of an analytics system, a spike-in including synthetic constructs of nucleic acid is added to soil samples for processing. The analytics system determines sequence reads classified to a microbe in the soil sample. The analytics system determines one or more measures of soil texture of the soil sample, for example, indicating percentages of sand, silt, and clay. The analytics system determines a measure of the microbe as a function of at least the classified sequence reads, the one or more measures of soil texture, and a mass of the spike-in. The analytics system can transmit the measure of the microbe to a client device for display on a user interface. A field where the soil sample was obtained can be treated according to the measure of the microbe.

Embodiments of the present invention provide a portable bioelectrochemical electrical signal measuring device that may have at least one anode, at least one cathode, an anode-cathode connector between said at least one anode and said at least one cathode, a load connector between a load and said at least one anode and at least one cathode, and a data meter connected to said load connector wherein the device may measure an electrical signal of a matrix to perhaps determine the microbial activity in the matrix.

In various embodiments, an analytics system determines nucleic acid sequence reads of genetic material in a soil sample from a geographical location. The analytics system determines a first set of measures of a plurality of gene functions represented in the nucleic acid sequence reads. The analytics system determines a second set of measures of a plurality of metabolic pathways of microorganisms present in soil at the geographical location. The analytics system determines a third set of measures of a plurality of soil health indicators of the soil at the geographical location, the plurality of soil health indicators including a plurality of levels of granularity. The analytics system determines a measure of an agronomic attribute of the soil at the geographical location as a function of the first, second, and third sets of measures.

The disclosed apparatus, systems and methods relate to estimating the rate of biodegradation of contaminants in the ground by measuring thermal gradients in the vadose zone where heat is produced by biodegradation reactions, and averaging over a full seasonal period, such as one year or one seasonal cycle, in which the groundwater temperatures and surface temperatures vary in a cyclical manner. Exemplary embodiments correct for the delay required by the heat being produced in the ground to reach the locations where the temperature gradients are measured, and also cancel out the signal noise caused by the changing surface and groundwater temperatures. In further embodiments, a mathematical model is provided to test the validity of the invention on two example sites.

In one aspect, a system for monitoring soil composition within a field may include a non-rotating ground-engaging tool configured to be pulled through soil within the field in a manner that performs an agricultural operation on the field. The non-rotating ground-engaging tool may, in turn, define a cavity therein, with the cavity including an opening. Furthermore, the system may include a sensor positioned within the cavity, with the sensor configured emit an output signal through the opening for reflection off of the soil within the field. The sensor may also be configured to detect the reflected output signal as a return signal, with a parameter of the return signal being indicative of a soil composition of the soil within the field.

A method of treating a heavy metal contaminated soil including contacting the contaminated soil with a bioremediation mixture for a predetermined time such that the contaminated soil is anaerobically digested, wherein the contaminated soil contains one or more heavy metals, and wherein the anaerobically digested soil contains a lesser amount of the one or more heavy metals than the contaminated soil.

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided for monitoring soil properties including soil moisture, soil electrical conductivity and soil temperature during an agricultural input application. Embodiments include a soil reflectivity sensor and/or a soil temperature sensor mounted to a seed firmer for measuring moisture and temperature in a planting trench. A thermopile for measuring temperature via infrared radiation is described herein. In one example, the thermopile is disposed in a body and senses infrared radiation through an infrared transparent window. Aspects of any of the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in or communicate with an agricultural intelligence computer system as described herein.

The present disclosure discloses a classification method and system for fine-grained mixed sedimentary rocks, a medium and a terminal. Core description and thin section observation are used to accurately identify the sedimentary structure types and their vertical distribution characteristics from the macroscopic and microscopic perspectives, and indicates the mixed sedimentation characteristics of combination of different lamina or laminar couplets. The micro-drilling sampling technique is used to sample the samples with different types of sedimentary structures while avoiding diagenetic minerals. X-ray diffraction mineral content analysis and a high-precision carbon-sulfur analyzer are used to obtain the contents of different types of minerals and the total organic carbon contents in each sample, respectively, the basic rock type of each sample was determined using a triangular classification diagram. The name of sedimentary structure and the total organic carbon content are added in order before the name of the basic rock type.