PARTICLE DENSITY OF VOLCANIC SOILS AS MEASURED WITH A GAS PYCNOMETER

In the absence of actual data, the particle density of soil is often assumed to be 2.65 Mg/m3. In this study, we will discuss whether this hypothesis applies with reasonable accuracy to various types of soils from Martinique. Thirty-nine samples taken from seven different subgroups of soils derived from volcanic materials were considered. Particle density was measured in triplicate on undisturbed, oven-dried samples by means of a gas pycnometer. The organic-matter content was a major factor in explaining low particle densities, but other soil constituents may be significantly involved also. -from Authors