AGU Journal Highlights -- Aug. 14, 2007

Authors: J. Demarty, F. Chevallier, A. D. Friend, N. Viovy, S. Piao, and P. Ciais: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Evnironnement, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique/Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (CNRS/CEA/UVSQ), Gif sur Yvette, France.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) paper 10.1029/2007GL030014, 2007

15. New insight into capillary pressure and groundwater properties

Capillary pressure helps regulate hydrocarbon recovery, groundwater interaction with the surface, and other processes that deal with buried gas or water. However, the difficulty of calculating capillary pressure impedes predicting distributions of multiple fluids in porous media. Plug et al. hypothesize that the ability of surrounding rock to transmit electrical current provides insight into the physical behavior of groundwater’s capillary pressure. Through laboratory experiments on sand samples with varying degrees of water saturation, the researchers find that pressure perturbations as water drains are slow to take effect, whereas perturbations as sands soak up water are processed more quickly. Such results indicate that capillary pressure is a unique function of water saturation and electric permittivity. By measuring permittivity in buried sediments, scientists can gain insights into processes at the boundary between groundwater and overlying material.

Title: Capillary pressure as a unique function of electric permittivity and water saturation

Authors: Willem-Jan Plug, Evert Slob, and Johannes Bruining: Department of Geotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands;

Jan van Turnhout: Faculty of Applied Sciences, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands.

Source: Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) paper 10.1029/2007GL029674, 2007

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