Preferential Solute Flow in Intact Soil Columns Measured by SPECT Scanning
Johan Perreta,
S.O. Prashera,
A. Kantzasb,
K. Hamiltonc and
C. Langfordd
a Dep. of Agric. and Biosyst. Eng., McGill Univ., 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, Canada H9X-3V9
b Dep. of Chem. and Petrol. Eng., Univ. of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, Canada T2N-1N4
c TIPM Lab., Univ. of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, Canada T2N-1N4
d Dep. of Chemistry, Univ. of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. N.W., Calgary, AB, Canada T2N-1N4

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Fig. 1 Siemens Orbiter gamma camera at the Tomographic Imaging and Porous Media Laboratory in Calgary, AB
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Fig. 2 Basic principles and components of a gamma camera
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Fig. 3 Rotation of the gamma camera around a column of soil
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Fig. 4 Comparison of the radioactivity level of Tc in water and in soil at different concentrations
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Fig. 5 Schematic representation of the distribution of the radioactive tracer in the top region of one of the soil columns
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Fig. 6 Three-dimensional representation of 99mTc distribution at different times after injection: (a) 25 s, (b) 50 s, (c) 75 s, (d) 100 s, (e) 125 s, (f) 150 s, (g) 200 s, (h) 300 s, (i) 400 s, (j) 500 s, (k) 750 s, and (l) 1000 s in Column 1
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Fig. 7 Relation between 3-D macropore space and tracer distribution. Three-dimensional reconstructions of macropore networks are shown for (a) Column 1 and (c) Column 4. The spatial distributions of the tracer were evaluated at (b) 165 s in Column 1 and (d) 80 s in Column 4 after tracer injection
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Fig. 8 Three-dimensional reconstructions of the tracer distribution in Column 4 obtained by SPECT scanning. The reconstructions represent 3-D tracer distribution at different times after injection: (a) 2 min, (b) 4 min, (c) 6 min, (d) 8 min, (e) 10 min, (f) 12 min, (g) 14 min, (h) 16 min, and (i) 18 min
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Fig. 9 Breakthrough curves observed in the effluent of Columns 1, 2, and 3
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Copyright © 2000 by the Soil Science Society of America.