HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Whitaker, M. P. L. Articles by Washburne, J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Whitaker, M. P. L. Articles by Washburne, J. GeoRef GeoRef Citation Agricola Articles by Whitaker, M. P. L. Articles by Washburne, J. Related Collections Soil Methods/Instrumentation Saturation

NOTES

Design and Testing of a Low-Cost Soil-Drying Oven

^a Dep. of Hydrology and Water Resources, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0011
^b Dep. of Civil Engineering Mechanics, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0011
^* Corresponding author (mplw{at}hwr.arizona.edu)

Received 24 June 2005.

Measuring gravimetric soil water content is a relatively elementary laboratory procedure; however, the inaccessibility of a laboratory oven makes this activity impractical for K–12 students. The Soil Moisture Campaign (SMC) Project of the Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program was developed to use gravimetric water content measurement as an introduction to earth science research for K–12 students. We have designed and tested a low-budget, low-technology "light-bulb oven" that is affordable enough for use in a classroom. The light-bulb oven was tested by drying replicate samples of four different soil types in the light-bulb oven and in a traditional laboratory oven. The results show that the performance of the light-bulb oven was comparable to that of a traditional laboratory oven.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. A. Robinson, C. S. Campbell, J. W. Hopmans, B. K. Hornbuckle, S. B. Jones, R. Knight, F. Ogden, J. Selker, and O. Wendroth Soil Moisture Measurement for Ecological and Hydrological Watershed-Scale Observatories: A Review Vadose Zone J., February 25, 2008; 7(1): 358 - 389. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]