Soils Laboratory

Researchers: Albright, Cooper, Decker, Lyles, Shafer, Young

Summary

The soils laboratory, with the support of the isotope and analytical chemistry laboratories, plays an important role in supporting the Division's vadose zone research program. The lab supports specific areas of research including modeling simultaneous transport of mass and energy through porous media; soil leaching; transport of radionuclides through soils and unconsolidated sediments; paleoclimate reconstruction from soil profiles; and wastewater and chemical disposal via land spreading.

Laboratory

This laboratory is equipped to determine physical and chemical soil parameters including saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, water diffusivity, porosity, water content, bulk density, particle size analysis moisture retention characteristics, cation exchange capacity, pH, and. Small and large soil column or slab experiments can be conducted in support of investigations into the movement of salt and other chemicals through unsaturated soil materials. An advanced and rapid tensiometer-pressure transducer system is available to study moisture movement under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions.

Keywords: soil, vadose zone, hydraulic conductivity, water diffusivity, porosity, bulk density, moisture retention curves, cation exchange capacity, pH, water content, particle size analysis