Lev Einat, Boyce Christopher M
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
iScience. 2020 Sep 5;23(9):101534. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101534. eCollection 2020 Sep 25.
Geological flows-from mudslides to volcanic eruptions-are often opaque and consist of multiple interacting phases. Scaled laboratory geological experiments using analog materials have often been limited to optical imaging of flow exteriors or measurements. Geological flows often include internal phase transitions and chemical reactions that are difficult to image externally. Thus, many physical mechanisms underlying geological flows remain unknown, hindering model development. We propose using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to enhance geosciences via non-invasive, measurements of 3D flows. MRI is currently used to characterize the interior dynamics of multiphase flows, distinguishing between different chemical species as well as gas, liquid, and solid phases, while quantitatively measuring concentration, velocity, and diffusion fields. This perspective describes the potential of MRI techniques to image dynamics within scaled geological flow experiments and the potential of technique development for geological samples to be transferred to other disciplines utilizing MRI.
地质流体——从泥石流到火山喷发——通常是不透明的，且由多个相互作用的相组成。使用模拟材料进行的缩尺实验室地质实验通常仅限于对流体外部进行光学成像或测量。地质流体通常包括内部相变和化学反应，这些很难从外部成像。因此，许多地质流体背后的物理机制仍然未知，这阻碍了模型的发展。我们建议使用磁共振成像（MRI）通过对三维流体进行非侵入性测量来加强地球科学研究。MRI目前用于表征多相流的内部动力学，区分不同的化学物质以及气相、液相和固相，同时定量测量浓度、速度和扩散场。这一观点描述了MRI技术在缩尺地质流体实验中对动力学进行成像的潜力，以及将地质样品的技术开发应用于利用MRI的其他学科的潜力。
