Browsing by Author "Farzamian, Mohammad"
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- Assessing soil salinity dynamics using time-lapse electromagnetic conductivity imagingPublication . Paz, Maria Catarina; Farzamian, Mohammad; Paz, Ana Marta; Castanheira, Nádia Luísa; Gonçalves, Maria Conceição; Santos, Fernando MonteiroLezíriaGrandedeVilaFrancadeXira,locatedinPortugal,isanimportantagriculturalsystemwhere soil faces the risk of salinization due to climate change, as the level and salinity of groundwater are likely to increase as a result of the rise of the sea water level and consequently of the estuary. These changes can also affect the salinity of the irrigation water which is collected upstream of the estuary. Soil salinity can be assessed over large areas by the following rationale: (1) use of electromagnetic induction (EMI) to measure the soil appar- ent electrical conductivity (ECa, mS m−1); (2) inversion of ECa to obtain electromagnetic conductivity imaging (EMCI) which provides the spatial distribution of the soil electrical conductivity (σ,mSm−1); (3) calibration process consisting of a regression between σ and the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste extract (ECe, dS m−1), used as a proxy for soil salinity; and (4) conversion of EMCI into salinity cross sections using the obtained calibration equation. In this study, EMI surveys and soil sampling were carried out between May 2017 and October 2018 at four locations with different salinity levels across the study area of Lezíria de Vila Franca. A previously developed regional calibration was used for predicting ECe from EMCI. Using time-lapse EMCI data, this study aims (1) to evaluate the ability of the regional calibration to predict soil salinity and (2) to perform a preliminary qualitative analysis of soil salinity dynamics in the study area. The validation analysis showed that ECe was predicted with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.14 dS m−1 in a range of 52.35 dS m−1, slightly overesti- mated (−1.23 dS m−1), with a strong Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.94 and high linearity between measured and predicted data (R2 = 0.88). It was also observed that the prediction ability of the regional calibration is more influenced by spatial variability of data than temporal variability of data. Soil salinity cross sections were generated for each date and location of data collection, revealing qualitative salinity fluctuations related to the input of salts and water either through irrigation, precipitation, or level and salinity of groundwater. Time-lapse EMCI is developing into a valid methodology for evaluating the risk of soil salinization, so it can further support the evaluation and adoption of proper agricultural management strategies, especially in irrigated areas, where continuous monitoring of soil salinity dynamics is required.
- Comparison of electromagnetic induction and electrical resistivity tomography in assessing soil salinity: Insights from four plots with distinct soil salinity levelsPublication . Paz, Maria Catarina; Castanheira, Nádia Luísa; Paz, Ana Marta; Gonçalves, Maria Conceição; Santos, Fernando Monteiro; Farzamian, MohammadElectromagnetic induction (EMI) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) are geophysical techniques measuring soil electrical conductivity and providing insights into properties correlated with it to depths of several meters. EMI measures the apparent electrical conductivity (ECa, dS m−1) without physical contact, while ERT acquires apparent electrical resistivity (ERa, ohm m) using electrodes. Both involve mathematical inversion to obtain models of spatial distribution for soil electrical conductivity (σ, mS m−1) and electrical resistivity (ρ, ohm m), respectively, where ρ is the reciprocal of σ. Soil salinity can be assessed from σ over large areas using a calibration process consisting of a regression between σ and the electrical conductivity of the saturated soil paste extract (ECe, dS m−1), used as a proxy for soil salinity. This research aims to compare the prediction abilities of the faster EMI to the more reliable ERT for estimating σ and predicting soil salinity. The study conducted surveys and sampling at four locations with distinct salinity levels in Portugal, analysing the agreement between the techniques, and obtained 2D vertical soil salinity maps. In our case study, the agreement between EMI and ERT models was fairly good in three locations, with σ varying between 50 and 500 mS m−1. However, this was not the case at location 4, where σ exceeded 1000 mS m−1 and EMI significantly underestimated σ when compared to ERT. As for soil salinity prediction, both techniques generally provided satisfactory and comparable regional-level predictions of ECe, and the observed underestimation in EMI models did not significantly affect the overall estimation of soil salinity. Consequently, EMI demonstrated an acceptable level of accuracy in comparison to ERT in our case studies, supporting confidence in utilizing this faster and more practical technique for measuring soil salinity over large areas
- Detailed detection of active layer freeze–thaw dynamics using quasi-continuous electrical resistivity tomography (Deception Island, Antarctica).Publication . Farzamian, Mohammad; Vieira, Gonçalo; Santos, Fernando A. Monteiro; Tabar, Borhan Yaghoobi; Hauck, Christian; Paz, Maria Catarina; Bernardo, Ivo; Ramos, Miguel; Angel de Pablo, MiguelClimate-induced warming of permafrost soils is a global phenomenon, with regional and site-specific vari- ations which are not fully understood. In this context, a 2- D automated electrical resistivity tomography (A-ERT) sys- tem was installed for the first time in Antarctica at Decep- tion Island, associated to the existing Crater Lake site of the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring – South Program (CALM-S) – site. This setup aims to (i) monitor subsurface freezing and thawing processes on a daily and seasonal basis and map the spatial and temporal variability in thaw depth and to (ii) study the impact of short-lived extreme meteoro- logical events on active layer dynamics. In addition, the feasi- bility of installing and running autonomous ERT monitoring stations in remote and extreme environments such as Antarc- tica was evaluated for the first time. Measurements were re- peated at 4 h intervals during a full year, enabling the detec- tion of seasonal trends and short-lived resistivity changes re- flecting individual meteorological events. The latter is impor- tant for distinguishing between (1) long-term climatic trends and (2) the impact of anomalous seasons on the ground ther- mal regime. Our full-year dataset shows large and fast temporal resis- tivity changes during the seasonal active layer freezing and thawing and indicates that our system setup can resolve spa- tiotemporal thaw depth variability along the experimental transect at very high temporal resolution. The largest resis- tivity changes took place during the freezing season in April, when low temperatures induce an abrupt phase change in the active layer in the absence of snow cover. The seasonal thaw- ing of the active layer is associated with a slower resistivity decrease during October due to the presence of snow cover and the corresponding zero-curtain effect. Detailed investiga- tion of the daily resistivity variations reveals several periods with rapid and sharp resistivity changes of the near-surface layers due to the brief surficial refreezing of the active layer in summer or brief thawing of the active layer during win- ter as a consequence of short-lived meteorological extreme events. These results emphasize the significance of the con- tinuous A-ERT monitoring setup which enables detecting fast changes in the active layer during short-lived extreme meteorological events. Based on this first complete year-round A-ERT monitor- ing dataset on Deception Island, we believe that this sys- tem shows high potential for autonomous applications in re- mote and harsh polar environments such as Antarctica. The monitoring system can be used with larger electrode spacing to investigate greater depths, providing adequate monitoring at sites and depths where boreholes are very costly and the ecosystem is very sensitive to invasive techniques. Further applications may be the estimation of ice and water contents through petrophysical models or the calibration and valida- tion of heat transfer models between the active layer and per- mafrost.
- Evaluation of soil salinity and sodicity using electromagnetic conductivity imagingPublication . Farzamian, Mohammad; Moreno, Francisco José Martinez; Ramos, Tiago B.; Castanheira, Nádia Luísa; Paz, Ana Marta; Santos, Fernando A. Monteiro; Paz, Maria Catarina; Rodríguez, Mario Ramos; Vanderlinden, Karl; Gonçalves. Maria C.
- Regional calibration and electromagnetic conductivity imaging for assessing the dynamics of soil salinityPublication . Paz, Maria Catarina; Farzamian, Mohammad; Paz, Ana Marta; Castanheira, Nádia Luísa; Gonçalves, Maria Conceição; Santos, Fernando Monteiro