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Effects of Soil Moisture on Simulated Methane Flow Under Varying Levels of Soil Compaction

  • Conference paper
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12th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering ((LNCE,volume 266))

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Abstract

Soil density plays an important role in regulating the migration of greenhouse gases from terrestrial soils to the atmosphere. Soil moisture is one of the main soil physical controls determining the fate and transport of gases in soils. This study investigated the transport of methane (CH4) originating from a simulated CH4 source within a variably compacted pasture soil. Simulations were carried out for dry and variably saturated soils. Steady-state methane flow was simulated as a density-dependent, multiphase flow considering a multicomponent mixture of CH4, water vapor and air, under different soil moisture conditions. We used measured soil–water characteristic (SWC) and gas diffusivity data at five density levels (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5 Mg m−3) to parameterize predictive models. Permeability was estimated using an existing SWC-based saturated hydraulic conductivity function. Results show a distinct effect of soil density on CH4 concentration profiles within the soil. Clear effects of soil moisture on CH4 transport could also be seen in differentially compacted soils. Relatively smaller CH4 concentrations were observed in dry soils where permeability, gas diffusivity, and air-filled porosity were higher. With increasing density, the profile-accumulated concentrations >0.3% increased up to 200 times under the dry condition. In moist soils, on the other hand, smaller air-filled porosity and higher moisture-controlled tortuosity resulted in reduced permeability and gas diffusivity, yielding high CH4 concentrations in the soil profile with only a maximum fivefold increase in the accumulated concentration with increasing density.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the funding from the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) grant (CRRP2020-07MY-Deepagoda). The New Zealand Government and New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC) under the Livestock Emissions and Abatement Research Network (LEARN) are also acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, 20400, Sri Lanka

    M. M. T. Lakshani & T. K. K. C. Deepagoda

  2. Department of Soil and Physical Sciences, Lincoln University, P.O. Box 85084, Lincoln, 7647, New Zealand

    T. J. Clough & N. Balaine

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    J. R. R. N. Jayarathne & K. Smits

  4. Plant and Food Research Ltd., Gerald St., Lincoln, 7608, New Zealand

    S. Thomas

  5. Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, Center for Permafrost (CENPERM), University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen, Denmark

    B. Elberling

Authors
  1. M. M. T. Lakshani
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  2. T. K. K. C. Deepagoda
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  3. T. J. Clough
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  4. J. R. R. N. Jayarathne
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  5. S. Thomas
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  6. N. Balaine
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  7. B. Elberling
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  8. K. Smits
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. M. T. Lakshani .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka

    Ranjith Dissanayake

  2. Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia

    Priyan Mendis

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka

    Kolita Weerasekera

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Ruhuna, Galle, Sri Lanka

    Sudhira De Silva

  5. Civil and Structural Engineering Consultants (Pvt) Ltd., Rajagiriya, Colombo, Sri Lanka

    Shiromal Fernando

  6. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Sri Jayawardanepura, Jayawardanepura, Sri Lanka

    Chaminda Konthesingha

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Lakshani, M.M.T. et al. (2023). Effects of Soil Moisture on Simulated Methane Flow Under Varying Levels of Soil Compaction. In: Dissanayake, R., Mendis, P., Weerasekera, K., De Silva, S., Fernando, S., Konthesingha, C. (eds) 12th International Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction Management. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 266. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2886-4_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2886-4_20

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-19-2885-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-19-2886-4

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