STATIC AND DYNAMIC THREE‐DIMENSIONAL STUDIES OF WATER IN SOIL USING COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC SCANNING1

Previous work of Petrovic et al. (1982) demonstrated the possibility of using x-ray transmission, computed tomography (CT) scanning for soil bulk density analysis in soil. We show that CT can also be used for measuring the water content of soil. We also show that CT can be applied to measure and follow dynamically the motion of water in soil in three dimensions. Furthermore inhomogeneities of water content and motion in soil can be observed with this technique. Using a third-generation CT scanner, several different techniques can be applied, such as differential, real-time, and spatial distribution scanning modes. A linear dependence was demonstrated for the Hounsfield units (HU) used in CT and water content. The use of CT for water content and motion in soil in three dimensions opens new possibilities in this area of investigation.