porosity

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porosity The percentage of the total bulk volume of a body of rock or soil that is occupied by pore space. The figure may represent: (a)(absolute porosity), which is the total of all pore spaces present in a rock or soil, not all of which will be interconnected and thus able to contain and transmit fluids; or(b)(effective porosity), which is the proportion of the rock that consists of interconnected pores.

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