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Air Content in Soil


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I am currently a Gr10 Science student, and we are currently learning about soil. Does anyone have any idea on how to calculate soil's air content?

 

Much help is appreciated. Thanks!

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  • 3 years later...

I guess you need a percentage, or a fraction? It is very important that you say if it is a volume% or mass%... makes a huge difference.

 

In practical terms:

Take the weight of the soil. Then add water, to fill up all the air pockets in the soil and measure how much water you use or take the weight again of the soil. (Hopefully the volume did not chance)...

The water has a density of about 1 kg/liter... so if you know how much water is added, then you know how much volume is added...

 

Until there it's the same for volume% and mass%, but after this it's different for both.

 

[edit] OOPS - I just checked the date of the Opening Post - I guess we're a bit late with the answer? By now Tellie should be 4 years further in education :embarass::-( And (s)he obviously never visits the forum anymore. :mad:

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Tellie, now in Gr 14.. this is a highly assumptious response..

 

i.Weigh a bulk soil sample....W1

ii. Stir it vigorously in water in a beaker

iii. Filtrate the mixture

iv. Weigh the Sample ..W2

v. W2 - W1 = Volume of moisture in saturated sample.

moisture volume = air content by volume

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Why should the amount of water retained in soil correlate with the air (do you mean oxygen?) content?. It depends a lot on the kind of soil, how densely it is packed and how large the interface with ambient air is.. Moist soil in a certain depth is practically anoxic.

And yes, we are doing repeated necromancy here.

Edited by CharonY
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  • 4 months later...

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