Medical imaging of soil-water processes
This project will study water flow in porous soil using Zr-89 as a radiotracer for positron emission tomography (PET).
Project leader
Dr Ross Stirling
Project staff
Inga Sirbu (PhD)
Dr David Milledge
Dr James Knight
Sponsors
EPSRC
Description
The first stage will develop a suitable radiotracer based on Zr-89-ligand complexes. We will then apply it to the visualisation of flow distribution and water transport pathway patterns in the soil.
The method allows the estimation of the cross-sectional velocity based on image intensity. This represents the tracer concentration.
We will then use this to visualise and make quantitative measurements of water flow through the soil. We will use a simplified system to develop and prove the method.
We will used the method to study systems of interest based on different types of soil.