UC Santa Barbara

Field trials of the dilution technique for measuring snow liquid water content show that the refined procedure is rapid and simple. Measurements of the liquid water mass fraction with an absolute error of ∼1.5% can be obtained by one operator at a rate of 10–15 samples per hour, but if the water content is low (0–2%), the relative error can be high. Electrolytic conductivity is the preferred method for measuring concentrations, using a stock solution of 0.01 N HCl. The recommended amount of stock solution to add is 0.5–0.8 times the mass of the snow sample. Extraction of the resulting mixture of stock solution and snow liquid water is best done with a screened pipette, instead of by decanting. Copyright 1985 by the American Geophysical Union.