2/25/04

AUBURN PHYSICIST INVENTS NEW SOIL MEASURING DEVICE

AUBURN -- An Auburn University soil physicist has invented a new measurement device that may play an important role in agriculture, geology, and other areas where determining the permeability of soil and other porous materials is important.

Jacob Dane, a professor in AU's Department of Agronomy and Soils, and former graduate student Marc Jalbert, developed the Air Permeameter to measure the amount of air flow through soil.

AU holds a patent on the instrument, which is undergoing commercial evaluation by Soil Measurement Systems, an internationally known soil measurement instrumentation firm based in Tucson, Ariz.

"The function of the Air Permeameter is to determine air permeability of soil and other porous materials," Dane said. "This is important for a variety of reasons in agriculture and geology."

Dane says the air permeability of soil directly relates to the amount of water flow for agricultural applications. By knowing the degree of compactness of soil, it also is possible to use this information to calculate other soil properties and characteristics.

"In agriculture, air in the soil is necessary for plant growth as is water," Dane said.

In industries such as petroleum production, he says that knowing the air permeability of the soil can be critical for planning and development.

Dane's Air Permeameter is comprised of a cylinder that is partially pushed into the soil. The instrument box contains an air pump, a pressure transducer, a volt meter, and a rechargeable battery, that provides the appropriate power. Air is injected through a tube that connects the air pump to the cylinder.

Another tube connects the pressure transducer to the cylinder to allow for the air pressure that develops in the air-head space inside the cylinder to be measured. The measured pressure is a function of the air permeability of the soil. The device also can be used with a contact probe to measure more solid materials.

Additionally, Dane believes the instrument might have applications in flood prediction in areas where snowfall is a factor.

"This device also can be used to measure the density of snow packs," he said. "The more dense the snow pack is, the more water it contains. This information could be used for such things as predicting how much run-off will result from thawing."

SMS instruments are being used in countries throughout North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia.

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feb:04:AU-soil

CONTACT: Dane, 334-844-3974; or 334/844-9999.