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Updated: May 22, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Characterization of water dynamics in frozen soils by solid-state deuteron NMR
Liliya Vugmeyster1, Tien Do, Dmitry Ostrovsky
1Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA. lvugmeyster@uaa.alaska.edu
Abstract:
The presence of unfrozen water in soils at sub-freezing temperatures is important for biogeochemical processes as well as for the genesis of landscapes and survival of life. While several mechanisms can lead to the existence of liquid water at sub-freezing temperatures, this work focuses on the dynamical (entropic) contribution stemming from motions of water molecules at water-soil or water-ice interfaces. We demonstrate the utility of solid-state (2)H NMR methods for characterization of water dynamics in soils on various time scales. Using a sample from McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, we show the existence of dynamics spanning a milliseconds to picoseconds time scale range. Computational modeling allows for a quantitative description of the dynamics, which involves models such as an exchange between bound and free water, and changes in effective viscosity of water in the soil matrix.
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