Scientists Map 110 Quadrillion km of Underground Fungal Networks… A billion Times The Distance From Earth to the Sun! Earth’s Vast Underground “Carbon Superhighway” A groundbreaking new study published today in the journal Science has revealed, for the first time, the global scale of one of Earth’s most important but hidden biological infrastructures: the networks of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. These thread-like fungal structures, known as hyphae, form symbiotic partnerships with roughly 70% of land plant species—including major crops like wheat, corn, and rice. In exchange for sugars from the plants, the fungi deliver essential nutrients (such as phosphorus and nitrogen) and water, while also playing a massive role in storing carbon underground. Mind-Boggling Scale Using data from more than 16,000 soil cores worldwide, machine-learning models, and high-resolution robotic imaging of fungal hyphae, researchers estimated: •Total length: ~110 quadrillion kilometers (1.10 × 10¹⁷ km) of living hyphae in the top 15 cm of global soils—enough to stretch nearly a billion times the distance from Earth to the Sun (or about 10% of the diameter of the Milky Way if laid out in space). •Biomass: ~300 megatons of carbon, equivalent to 4–6 times the biomass of all humans on Earth. •These networks move about 1 billion metric tons of carbon per year into soils, acting as a critical “carbon circulatory system” that helps regulate the planet’s climate. Densities are highest in grasslands, with notable hotspots in places like the Sudd wetlands in Africa and the Everglades. The “Wood Wide Web” at Planetary Scale This research builds on the popular “Wood Wide Web” concept, where fungi connect plants in shared resource networks. The new global maps (available for exploration via the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks, or SPUN) show these connections operating at an ecosystem-wide level, supporting plant health, resilience to drought and disease, and food security. These fungi are vital allies in the fight against climate change and for sustainable agriculture. However, they face threats from soil disturbance (like tillage), pesticides, and land-use changes. The study also highlights gaps in sampling, particularly in undersampled ecosystems that need further research. Read the full research paper (paywalled, but abstract freely available): science.org/doi/10.1126/scie… 
Global density and biomass of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks Explore interactive maps and learn more at SPUN.earth. This discovery underscores how much of Earth’s life-support systems remain invisible to the naked eye yet operate on a truly planetary scale. Protecting these underground networks could be one of the most effective ways to sustain healthy soils, productive crops, and a stable climate.

For 19 years, GPS satellites have secretly broadcast a “numbers station” in their public signals. We decoded 12M messages: a 2011 flash where 31 of 32 satellites flipped in hours, “ghost” substrings repeating years apart, and a “TEXT” prefix spreading now. lsc-pagepro.mydigitalpublica…

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