{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T09:59:56Z","timestamp":1785405596933,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"30","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784592000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Major Research Instrument Development","award":["42227804"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["42227804"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["42402279"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["42402279"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"name":"Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of tongji University","award":["22120250195"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["22120250195"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Preferential flow governs fluid and solute transport across scales from micropores to regional watersheds, yet it is commonly attributed to static pore-structure heterogeneity. Here, we show that fluid polarity can actively reorganize pore networks and amplify preferential flow in kaolinite-rich clay media. In permeation experiments, replacing water with a low-polar hydrofluoroether triggers early breakthrough (~0.4 d) and permeability up to ~62.7\u00d7 higher than predicted by standard relative permeability functions at only 18.8% low-polar saturation. Multiscale imaging and porosimetry show a transition from unimodal microporosity to connected pore-fracture bimodal architectures. Interfacial measurements indicate that low-polar fluids weaken interparticle electrostatic repulsion and thereby reorganize pore space by reducing ineffective pores and activating latent connectivity. Guided by the cross-scale mechanistic chain, we establish a one-parameter relationship linking interfacial forces to ineffective porosity and integrate it into a coupled framework that reproduces preferential path development and permeability evolution across 21 clay-rich media and 24 fluids. These findings advance a cross-scale framework for polarity-driven transport dynamics and provide a basis for incorporating fluid polarity into predictive subsurface transport models in shallow clay-rich environments.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2536672123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T18:00:45Z","timestamp":1784656845000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Fluid polarity shifts initiate and amplify preferential flow in clay-rich media"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7128-5352","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peihao","family":"Ouyang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/03rc6as71","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Department of Geotechnical Engineering, Tongji University","place":["Shanghai, 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H. Ouyang S. J. Feng H. Chen Q. T. Zheng X. L. Zhang Fluid polarity shifts initiate and amplify preferential flow in clay-rich media. Zenodo. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5281\/zenodo.21303276. Deposited 11 July 2026."}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.2536672123","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]],"date-time":"2026-07-21T18:01:14Z","timestamp":1784656874000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2536672123"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]]},"references-count":43,"journal-issue":{"issue":"30","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,28]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1073\/pnas.2536672123"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2536672123","relation":{},"ISSN":["0027-8424","1091-6490"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0027-8424","type":"print"},{"value":"1091-6490","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,21]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-12-17","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-06-22","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-07-21","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e2536672123"}}