40 Years of X-ray CT in Soil: Historical Context

In December 1973 Godfrey Hounsfield published his seminal paper on transverse axial scanning, describing a methodology that could non-destructively analyse a human head (Hounsfield, 1973). Two years previously, a patient’s head had been scanned in what was the first system available to hospitals developed by Hounsfield and his research partners. Thereafter, an explosion in the use of Computed Tomography (CT) systems for medical purposes was observed in most western countries. Now scans are faster, safer and more accurate and the use of CT has extended far beyond the medical practices; and we now see CT specifically designed and used for mining, electronics, engineering and environmental challenges. This edited collection explores the use and development of CT for soil ecosystems, the most complex biomaterial on the planet, identifying best practice and new approaches to the quantification of pores, roots and organic matter, all non destructively and all in situ.