RESEARCH PAPER
Evaluation of the impact of freezing technique on pore-structure characteristics
of highly decomposed peat using X-ray micro-computed tomography
1
University of Orleans, CNRS, BRGM, Earth Sciences Institute of Orléans (ISTO), 1A rue de la Férollerie, 45071 Orleans Cedex 2, France
2
University of Damas, Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agronomy, PO Box 30621, Damas, Syria
3
CNRS, Extreme Conditions and Materials, High Temperature and Irridiation (CEMHTI), UPR 3079, Avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, 45071 Orleans, Cedex 2, France
Final revision date: 2022-07-07
Acceptance date: 2022-07-12
Publication date: 2022-08-29
Corresponding author
Hassan Al Majou
Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans (ISTO), 1A rue de la Férollerie, 45071, Orléans, France
Université d’Orléans, CNRS, BRGM, Institut des Sciences de la Terre d’Orléans (ISTO), 1A rue de la Férollerie, 45071, Orléans, France
Int. Agrophys. 2022, 36(3): 223-233
HIGHLIGHTS
- Freezing used to obtain small size samples alters structure of peat materials
- Structure alteration is clearly shown in X-ray computed tomography
- Tubular pores several hundreds micrometers in diameter are altered
- Smaller pores possibly produced by the formation of ice crystals are artefacts
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
The modelling of peatland functioning requires detailed knowledge of the peat structure. To this end, freezing is nowadays increasingly used to obtain X-ray micro computed tomography (X-ray -CT) images. The aim of this study was to analyze the structure of a peat material before freezing and post-defreezing using X-ray -CT and to look for possible alterations in the structure by analyzing the air-filled porosity. A highly decomposed peat material close to water saturation was selected for study. Three samples were analyzed before freezing and post-defreezing using an X-ray -CT Nanotom 180NF. Results showed that the continuity and cross section of the air-filled tubular pores several hundreds to about one thousand micrometers in diameter were altered post-defreezing. Many much smaller air-filled pores not detected before freezing were also recorded post-defreezing. Detailed analysis showed a dramatic increase in the number of air-filled pores ranging between 1 voxel (216 103 µm3) and 50 voxels (10.8 106 µm3) in volume. The volume of these pores newly occupied by air using X-ray -CT and their total volume was found to be consistent with the one calculated as resulting from the increase in the specific volume of water when it turns into ice.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge all of the contributions which enabled us to carry out this study.
FUNDING
This work was financialy supported by the Labex Voltaire (AND-10-LABX-100-01, 2009 to 2025) and the French program PAUSE (2017 to 2022).
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors do not declare any conflict of interest.
REFERENCES (42)
1.
Avcibas I., Sankur B., and Sayood K., 2002. Statistical evaluation of image quality measures. J. Electron. Imag., 11(2), https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1455....
2.
Benscoter B.W., Thompson D.K., Waddington J.M., Flannigan M.D., Wotton B.M., de Groot W.J., and Turetsky M.R., 201. Interactive effects of vegetation, soil moisture and bulk density on depth of burning of thick organic soils. Int. J. Wildland Fire., 20, 418-429, https://doi.org/10.1071/WF0818....
3.
Bernard-Jannin L., Binet S., Gogo S., Leroy F., Défarge C., Jozja N., Zocatelli R., Perdereau L., and Laggoun-Défarge F., 2018. Hydrological control of dissolved organic carbon dynamics in a rehabilitated Sphagnum dominated peatland: a water-table based modelling approach. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sc., 22, 4907-4920, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2....
4.
Boelter D.H., 1968. Important physical properties of peat materials. Proc. 3rd Int. Peat Congress, August 18-23, Quebec, Canada.
5.
Boelter D.H., 1976. Methods for analysing the hydrological characteristics of organic soils in marsh-ridden areas. In: Hydrology of Marsh-Ridden Areas. Proc. IASH Symp. Minsk, 1972, IASH, UNESCO, Paris.
6.
Comont L., Laggoun-Défarge F., and Disnar J.R., 2006. Evolution of organic matter indicators in response to major environmental changes: the case of a formerly cut-over peat bog (Le Russey, Jura Mountains, France). Org. Geochem., 37, 1736-1751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgg....
7.
D’Angelo B., Gogo S., Laggoun-Défarge F., Le Moing F., Jégou F., and Guimbaud C., 2016. Soil temperature synchronisation improves representation of diel variability of ecosystem respiration in Sphagnum peatlands. Agr. Forest Meteorol., 223, 95-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrf....
8.
Feldkamp L.A., Davis L.C., and Kress J.W., 1984. Practical cone-beam algorithm. J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, 1(6), https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAA.....
9.
Gharedaghloo B., Price J.S., Rezanezhad F., and Quinton W.L., 2018. Evaluating the hydraulic and transport properties of peat soil using pore network modeling and X-ray micro computed tomography. J. Hydrol., 561, 494-508, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhyd....
10.
Glaser P.H., Rhoades J., and Reeve A.S., 2021. The hydraulic conductivity of peat with respect to scaling, botanical composition, and greenhouse gas transport: mini-aquifer tests from the Red Lake Peatland, Minnesota. J. Hydrol., 596, 125686, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydr....
11.
Gobat J.M., Grosvernier P., and Matthey Y., 1986. Les tourbières du Jura suisse. Milieux naturels, modifications humaines, caractères des tourbes, potentiel de régénération, Actes de la Société Jurassienne d’Emulation, 213-315.
12.
Harvey A.H., 2017. Properties of ice and supercooled water. In: CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (Eds W.M. Haynes, D.R. Lide, T.J. Bruno), Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press.
13.
Kaila A., 1956. Determination of the degree of humification in peat samples. Agric. Sci. Finl., 28,18-35. https://doi.org/10.23986/afsci....
14.
Kaila A., 2008. Determination of the degree of humification of peat samples. J. Agr. Sci. Finland, 28, 18-35, 1956.
15.
Kettridge N., and Binley A., 2008. X-ray computed tomography of peat soils: measuring gas content and peat structure. Hydrol. Process., 22, 4827-4837, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.70....
16.
Kettridge N., and Binley A., 2011. Characterization of peat structure using X-ray computed tomography and its control on the ebullition of biogenic gas bubbles. J. Geophys. Res., 116, G01024, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JG....
17.
Kurnain A., and Hayati A., 2016. Characteristics of water retention of ombrotrophic peats under different land uses. Full Paper Proc. ETAR, Int. Conf. Emerging Trends in Academic Research, 3, 271-280, http://eprints.ulm.ac.id/id/ep....
18.
Lantuéjoul C., and Beucher S., 1981. On the use of the geodesic metric in image analysis. J. Microsc., 121, 39-49,.
19.
Le Trong E., Rozenbaum O., Rouet J.L., and Bruand A., 2008. A simple methodology to segment X-ray tomographic images of a multiphasic building stone. Image Anal. Stereol., 27, 175-182, https://doi.org/10.5566/ias.v2....
20.
Levesque M., Dinel H., and Marcoux R., 1980. Évaluation des critères de différentiation pour la classification de 92 matériaux tourbeux du Québec et de l’Ontario, Can. J. Soil Sci., 60, 479-486. https://doi.org/10.4141/cjss80....
21.
Liu B., Ma R.M., and Fan H.M., 2021. Evaluation of the impact of freeze-thaw cycles on pore structure characteristics of black soil using X-ray computed tomography. Soil Till. Res., 206, 104810, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stil....
22.
Ma R.M., Jiang Y., Liu B., and Fan H.M., 2021. Effects of pore structure characterized by synchrotron-based micro-computed tomography on aggregate stability of black soil under freeze-thaw cycles. Soil Till. Res., 207, 104855, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stil....
23.
Michel J.C., Rivière L.M., and Bellon-Fontaine M.N., 2001. Measurement of the wettability of organic materials in relation to water content by capillary rise method. Eur. J. Soil Sci., 52, 459-467, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365....
24.
Michel J.C., 2015. Effect of freezing on the physical properties and wettability of highly decomposed peats used as growing media. Eur. J. Hortic. Sci., 80, 190-195, doi: 10.17660/eJHS.2015/80.4.7.
25.
Monnier G., Stengel P., and Fiès J.C., 1973. Une méthode de mesure de la densité apparente de petits agglomérats terreux. Application à l’analyse des systèmes de porosité du sol. Ann. Agron., 25, 533-545.
26.
Moore P.A., Lukenbach M.C., Kettridge N., Petrone R.M., Devito K.J., and Waddington J.M., 2017. Peatland water repellency: Importance of soil water content, moss species, and burn severity. J. Hydrol., 554, 656-665, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhyd....
27.
Müller J., and Fortunat J., 2021. Committed and projected future changes in global peatlands – continued transient model simulations since the Last Glacial Maximum. Biogeosciences, 3657-3687, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-....
28.
Nimmo J.R., 2013. Porosity and pore size distribution. Enc. Soil Environ., 3, 295-303, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0....
29.
Quinton W.L., Elliot T., Price J.S., Rezanezhad F., and Heck R., 2009. Measuring physical and hydraulic properties of peat from X-ray tomography. Geoderma, 153, 269-277, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geod....
30.
Ramirez J.A., Baird A.J., and Coulthard T.J., 2016. The effect of pore structure on ebullition from peat. J. Geophys. Res-Biogeo., 121, 1646-1656. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015LG....
31.
Rezanezhad F., Quinton W.L., Price J.S., Elrick D., Elliot T.R., and Heck R.J., 2009. Examining the effect of pore size distribution and shape on flow through unsaturated peat using 3-D computed tomography. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 13, 1993-2002, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-1...
32.
Rezanezhad F., Quinton W.L., Price J.S., Elliot T.R., Elrick D., and Shook K.R., 2010. Influence of pore size and geometry on peat unsaturated hydraulic conductivity computed from 3D computed tomography image analysis. Hydrol. Process., 24, 2983-2994, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.77....
33.
Rozenbaum O., Bruand A., and Le Trong E., 2012. Soil porosity resulting from the assemblage of silt grains with a clay phase: New perspectives related to utilization of X-ray synchrotron computed microtomography. C.R. Geosci., 344, 516-525, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crte....
34.
Rozenbaum O., and Rolland du Roscoat S., 2014. Representative elementary volume assessment of three-dimensional X-ray microtomography images of heterogeneous materials: Application to limestones. Phys. Rev. E, 89: 053304. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRe....
35.
Smith S.W., 1997. The scientist and engineer’s guide to digital signal processing. California Technical Publishing, San Diego, CA, USA.
36.
Swinnen W., Broothaerts N., and Verstraeten G., 2021. Modelling long-term alluvial peatland dynamic in temperate river flood plains, Biogeosciences Discuss (preprint), https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-202..., in review.
37.
Turberg P., Zeimetz F., Grondin Y., Elandoy C., and Buttler A., 2014. Characterization of structural disturbances in peats by X-ray CT-based density determinations. Eur. J. Soil Sci., 65, 613-624. https://www.dora.lib4ri.ch/wsl... object/wsl:5128.
38.
Vogel H.J., 2002. Topological characterization of porous media. 2nd Int. Wuppertal Workshop Statistical Physics and Spatial Statistics, University of Wuppertal, March 5-9, 2001 Wuppertal, Germany, In: Physics and geometry of spatially complex systems, Lecture Notes in Physics (Eds K. Mecke and D. Stoyan) Morphology of condensed matter: Springer, 600, 75-92.
39.
Wang S., Yang Z., and Yang P., 2017. Structural change and volumetric shrinkage of clay due to freeze-thaw by 3D X-ray computed tomography. Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 138, 108-116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cold....
40.
Wiedeveld S.Th.J., van den Berg M., and Lamers L.P.M., 2021. Conventional subsoil irrigation techniques do not lower carbon emissions from drained peat meadows. Biogeosciences, 18, 3881-3902, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-....
41.
Youn H., Kim H.K., Kam S., Kim S.H., Park J.W., and Jeon H., 2015. Physics-based modeling of computed tomography systems. Conf. Medical Imaging – Physics of Medical Imaging, February 22-25, Orlando, FL, In: Medical imaging 2015: Physics of medical imaging (Eds C. Hoeschen and D. Kontos). Proc. SPIE, 9412: 94122N.
42.
Zhao H.F., Muraro S., and Jommi C., 2020. Gas exsolution and gas invasion in peat: towards a comprehensive modelling framework. Géotechnique Letters, 10(3), 461-467, https://doi.org/10.1690/jgele.....
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 2300-8725 |
| ISSN: | 0236-8722 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
