Scattered Soil Sampling

Why study surface soil?

Some of the first samples we ever collected were Kentucky dirt. We joined other field teams, tagged along on projects, worked with students, and grabbed soil when we had a good reason to grab soil. Those early samples were also where we figured out how we wanted to do this. How much do we collect? How do we handle it? What works, what absolutely does not? You gotta start somewhere.

Since then, we have kept adding to the pile. Some samples come from specific projects, some come from collaborations, and sometimes we are standing somewhere interesting with sampling gear. It would be rude not to. The result is a growing collection of surface soils from around Kentucky that lets us ask questions across different environments instead of treating every handful of dirt like it exists by itself.

And then we started collecting a lot of cave sediment. Suddenly all that surface dirt got even more useful. Now we can put surface and subsurface samples next to each other and ask what changes when you go underground. Microbes, metabolites, minerals, elements, contaminants. Same toolkit, different dirt, considerably more questions.

ML_01_CP Cow Pasture

The Potter interns had three main study sites across this floodplain in 2025, which gave us a perfect place to work out our own soil sampling protocols. This spot was active cow pasture with plenty of animal movement, so there is a whole lot more happening here than just dirt.

ML_02_TS Tree Soil

Same property, same floodplain, about a quarter mile down the trail, except no cows. That makes this a really useful comparison for seeing what the soil looks like without all that cattle traffic and everything cattle bring with them.

ML_03_GF Grassy Field

The KGS radon team was already taking soil measurements here, so we grabbed some dirt too. Maybe something in the microbial or chemical data lines up with the radon measurements, maybe it doesn’t. Either way, it gives us another piece of Kentucky soil to throw into the bigger picture.

MESONET_01 SPIN Station

We tagged along with the radon team again and collected soil at a Kentucky Mesonet weather station. That means we get something we almost never get handed this nicely: continuous atmospheric and meteorological data through time to put alongside everything happening in the soil. Also, the grass was short, so the ticks were considerably less enthusiastic.

MESONET_02 LXGN Station

Another Mesonet station, another patch of Kentucky dirt. We get the same ridiculous amount of weather data to go with it, plus another sampling location to see how much the microbes, chemistry, and everything else change even within the same general part of the state.

MESONET_03 CLMT Station

Third Mesonet station we hit while tagging along with the radon team. Same deal as Lexington: soil, radon measurements, and continuous weather data, except now we have another part of Kentucky in the mix. Every new site makes that statewide picture a little less blurry.

Who Made This Possible

Access and Site Partners

• Anonymous Landowner

• Mesonet Managers, Kentucky Climate Center, Western Kentucky University

• Donna Robinson, Geologist, KGS

• Dr. Meredith Swallom, Geologist, KGS

This work is not a single step and it is not a single person. It starts with people who make access possible, continues with those willing to get into the field and collect the samples, and runs all the way through the lab, the analysis, and the work required to turn raw material into something that holds up.

By the time you are looking at data, figures, or publications, it has already moved through a chain of people who showed up and did the work at every stage. We do not take that for granted. Thank you.

Washburn CHAOS Lab Members

• Dr. Rachel Washburn, Director, Washburn CHAOS Lab

• Dr. Alex Washburn, Geochemist, KGS | CONAN Division, WCL

Field Sampling

• Donna Robinson, Geologist, KGS

• Dr. Rachel Washburn, Director, Washburn CHAOS Lab

Sample Analyses Collaborators

• Jason Backus, Laboratory Manager, KGS

• Andrea Conner, Laboratory Analyst, KGS

• Dr. Alex Washburn, Geochemist, KGS | CONAN Division, WCL

Funding and Sponsorship

• University of Kentucky OVPR Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

• KGS Enrichment Fund

Photography, Videography, and Imaging

• Elizabeth Adams, Engagement Division Director, KGS

• Donna Robinson, Geologist, KGS

• Dr. Rachel Washburn, Director, Washburn CHAOS Lab

Get in touch

If you have questions about this system, start there. If you want to get involved, use these data as a starting point, get access to raw datasets, collaborate, have us collect samples, or come in and run your own study, this is where that happens. This work is open to people who are actually going to do something with it. The form is below.

Washburn CHAOS Lab

Science is metal. Science is feral. Science is CHAOS.

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complex host-abiotic systems

@washburnchaoslab

Feral scientists exploring hostile systems, unstable environments, and the chemistry shaping what survives there.