Open AccessGas diffusivity‐based characterization of aggregated soils linking to methane migration in shallow subsurface
Author(s) -
Shanujah M.,
Deepagoda Chamindu,
Smits Kathleen M.,
Shreedharan V.,
Paramrswaran T. G.,
Babu G. L. S.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
vadose zone journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.036
H-Index - 81
ISSN - 1539-1663
DOI - 10.1002/vzj2.20135
Subject(s) - soil water , soil science , thermal diffusivity , soil gas , methane , soil texture , water content , saturation (graph theory) , permeability (electromagnetism) , environmental science , soil vapor extraction , moisture , gaseous diffusion , geology , chemistry , environmental remediation , geotechnical engineering , contamination , mathematics , membrane , biochemistry , quantum mechanics , physics , organic chemistry , electrode , combinatorics , ecology , biology
Methane transport in soil is primarily affected by soil physical conditions such as soil texture and soil structure, soil moisture, soil‐gas diffusivity, permeability, and soil temperature. Aggregated soils have distinct soil structure with two pore regions characteristics (i.e., interaggregate and intraaggregate regions) and therefore show bimodal behavior with respect to soil physical properties controlling gas migration. This study characterized an aggregated soil retrieved near a natural gas (NG) extraction site at Denver–Julesburg (D‐J) basin in northeast Colorado (USA) with respect to soil‐water characteristic (SWC), pore‐size distribution, gas diffusivity and thermal conductivity. The investigated soil exhibited distinctive two‐region characteristics, which were adequately parameterized with extended, existing, and newly developed bimodal functions. We carried out an analysis with integrated model parameters to obtain a graphical insight on the correlation of properties. In addition, CH 4 concentration profiles originated from a point source representing a buried pipeline leakage at three different flow rates (6, 12, and 24 L min –1 ) were simulated with a numerical tool that can simulate the multiphase flow of gas mixture under dry and different saturation conditions of the soil. Simulated results highlighted pronounced effects of soil moisture and, to a lesser degree, of gas leakage rate on subsurface CH 4 concentrations profiles, suggesting diffusion‐dominated movement of CH 4 in subsurface.