SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL MAPPING OF WATER IN SOIL BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING

Experiments on model and real soil blocks designed to assess the feasi bility of using magnetic resonance imaging for three-dimensional mappi ng of the time-varying spatial distribution of water in structured soi ls are reported. The results show that, notwithstanding inherent probl ems in imaging natural soils with a significant iron content, experime ntal parameters can be identified which allow satisfactory images to b e obtained. Magnetic resonance imaging may therefore provide important information on soil structure and water movement in dual porosity soi ls, with attendant benefits for the calibration of models of non-Darci an flow in such soils.