Dilution method for measuring liquid water in snow

The dilution method for measuring liquid water in snow samples was proposed by Bader (1948) as an alternative to calorimetry. The method involves adding an aqeous stock solution containing a small (<1%) concentration of dissolved impurity into a wet snow sample at 0 degrees C, mixing thoroughly, decanting some of the mixture, and computing how much liquid water was in the sample from the concentration ratio (mixture/stock). Experiments on 172 samples indicate that the method is applicable to a wide range of sample mass (100 g to 2000 g), is quick and simple, and produces mean errors of about 2 g of water per 100 g of sample mass.