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Deuterium and the Self‐Diffusion Coefficient of Soil Moisture
Author(s) -
Kunze R. J.,
Kirkham Don
Publication year - 1961
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1961.03615995002500010010x
Subject(s) - diffusion , tracer , deuterium , heavy water , water content , moisture , self diffusion , soil water , chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , materials science , soil science , thermodynamics , environmental science , environmental chemistry , geotechnical engineering , geology , composite material , nuclear physics , physics , self service , marketing , business
An experimental technique for studying soil water movement using heavy water (DOH) as a tracer is described. The heavy water is analyzed with a mass spectrometer. By means of techniques described, it is possible to measure differences in D concentration of ± 0.0005 mole percent for the range of heavy water concentrations used. Two experiments in self‐diffusion are described in detail. They consisted of following the movement of water, in a soil core and in a glass beads core, by means of water molecules tagged with the heavy hydrogen. After arbitrary selected times the cores were sectioned and D analyses made of the moisture in each section. The experimental data were used in a theoretical diffusion equation to obtain self‐diffusion coefficients. For the soil core the self‐diffusion coefficient was found to be about one‐fourth that of pure water; for the glass beads, about one‐half that of pure water.