title: Detection of organic pollutants in sandy soils via TDR and eigendecomposition.
abstract: In this study, organic pollutants in sandy soils are detected using a time domain relectrometry (TDR) probe system and eigendecomposition technique. As a demonstration, four types of organic fluids (motor oil, diesel oil, methanol and ethanol) were examined. Samples were prepared with different combinations of deionized water and organic fluid contents. For each experiment, reflected signals were captured by an oscilloscope, and their characteristics were identified using eigendecomposition technique. Autoregressive modeling and singular value decomposition methods were utilized for calculating the eigenvalues. The most significant eigenvalues were then identified based on their relative magnitude. Experimental results indicated that the presented system is sensitive to both water and pore fluid organic contents. For saturated conditions, signature curves were determined for identification of organic and/or water contents in soil pore fluids.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Research Support and Services, Research Affairs; Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates. Mohamed.a@uaeu.ac.ae
authors.forename: A M O
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Said
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis; D000432:Methanol / Q000032:analysis; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010578:Petroleum / Q000032:analysis; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D000431:Ethanol; D000432:Methanol