Pedophysics: An open-source Python package for soil geophysics

ABSTRACT We introduce Pedophysics, an open-source Python package designed to facilitate solutions for users who work in the field of soil assessment using near-surface geophysical electromagnetic techniques. Despite the increasing application of geophysical techniques for soil characterization, challenges remain in standardizing modeling approaches, integrating diverse data sources, and ensuring robust predictions across varying environmental conditions. At the core of this software is the ability to translate geophysical data into specific soil properties (and vice versa) using pedophysical models (PMs). Pedophysical modeling techniques offer valuable insights into various realms such as precision agriculture, soil health, resource prospecting, nutrient and land management, hydrogeology, and heritage conservation. Although the implemented PM has been validated for different environmental and measuring conditions, the core innovation relies on a novel data-processing workflow that allows obtaining solutions with minimal requirements. The capabilities of Pedophysics extend to handling complex scenarios such as fusing data from different instruments, incorporating continuous monitoring measurements, and soil calibration data. With these solutions, Pedophysics automates the process of deriving targeted soil and geophysical properties with state-of-the-art accuracy. Users can rely on Pedophysics to implement specific knowledge about pedophysical modeling. The software promotes global access to advanced soil geophysical solutions by being open source and encouraging community contributions.