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Soil Water Content by Microwave Drying: A Routing Procedure¹

ABSTRACT

A routine procedure was established for determining soil water content by microwave drying. The procedure requires small, 20-gram soil samples heated for a 20-min period at full power (600 to 650 W) in a household-type microwave oven. Using this procedure, consistent agreement (within 0.5 wt%) was obtained between microwave and electric oven drying for soil materials ranging from quartz sands to fine silts and clays, with water contents ranging from air-dry to saturation and with organic matter ranging from 0 to > 20 wt%.

¹ Contribution from Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA 99352. Work supported by Project AP-01-10-15, Dep. of Energy, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Program.

² Senior Research Scientist and Laboratory Technician, Earth Sciences Section, Dep. of Water and Land Resources, Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA 99352.

Received for publication April 15, 1981. Accepted for publication July 7, 1981.