3-D Fluorescent Imaging of Fluid Flow in Rock

Imaging deep inside porous media is a classical problem that manifests in enhanced oil recovery, geological CO$_2$ storage, and many other fields. However, the strong optical scattering from the pore structure limits traditional microscopy techniques to a few pore lengths from the surface. Superpenetration Multi-Photon Microscopy (S-MPM) is a technique to image through strongly scattering media by using coherent optimization of the phase front of incident light to compensate for the scattering in the material. We demonstrate that we can use S-MPM to create high-quality images of fluorescent beads through 40$\mu$m of calcite rock samples, and we plan to use our imaging capabilities to measure the flow characteristics of water and oil through porous rock.