Chapter 9: Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Study Contaminant Dynamics

Magnetic resonance imaging allows us to spatially resolve signals from within our samples providing information not only on the nature of their content, but also on the distribution of features both in up to three-dimensional space and in time. An earlier chapter has introduced the power of magnetic resonance spectroscopy as a tool to study soil contamination which will be extended here to consider how imaging can provide complementary information, particularly with respect to spatial and temporal dynamics in transport, migration and flow. This is a continually growing area of interest in environmental science. To support this growth, where possible, a starting point for protocols and parameters is provided to minimise some of the challenges involved in running such experiments from scratch.