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Influence of pore size and geometry on peat unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from 3D computed tomography image analysis
Author(s) -
Rezanezhad F.,
Quinton W. L.,
Price J. S.,
Elliot T. R.,
Elrick D.,
Shook K. R.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.7709
Subject(s) - tortuosity , hydraulic conductivity , fractal dimension , permeameter , soil science , peat , materials science , bulk density , tomography , geology , soil water , mineralogy , porosity , geotechnical engineering , fractal , optics , mathematics , mathematical analysis , ecology , physics , biology
In organic soils, hydraulic conductivity is related to the degree of decomposition and soil compression, which reduce the effective pore diameter and consequently restrict water flow. This study investigates how the size distribution and geometry of air‐filled pores control the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity of peat soils using high‐resolution (45 µm) three‐dimensional (3D) X‐ray computed tomography (CT) and digital image processing of four peat sub‐samples from varying depths under a constant soil water pressure head. Pore structure and configuration in peat were found to be irregular, with volume and cross‐sectional area showing fractal behaviour that suggests pores having smaller values of the fractal dimension in deeper, more decomposed peat, have higher tortuosity and lower connectivity, which influences hydraulic conductivity. The image analysis showed that the large reduction of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity with depth is essentially controlled by air‐filled pore hydraulic radius, tortuosity, air‐filled pore density and the fractal dimension due to degree of decomposition and compression of the organic matter. The comparisons between unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from the air‐filled pore size and geometric distribution showed satisfactory agreement with direct measurements using the permeameter method. This understanding is important in characterizing peat properties and its heterogeneity for monitoring the progress of complex flow processes at the field scale in peatlands. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.