In Situ Approaches for Measuring Biodegradation Potential and Rates in Subsurface Environments

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is sponsoring the special session In Situ Approaches for Measuring Biodegradation Potential and Rates in Subsurface Environments at the 2008 Joint Annual Meeting, Houston, Texas, on October 5-9, 2008. The session will feature current research on methods and approachers to determining the the rate contaminants in the subsurface biodegrade.

Session Description

The conveners expect this session to include an interdisciplinary mix of hydrogeologists, geochemists, and microbiologists who are using a variety of experimental methodologies to interrogate the subsurface to study biogeochemical reactions of interest. The approaches used might include in situ microcosms, tracer and reactive constituent injection tests, or in situ reactive barriers in a variety of hydrogeologic environments, including pristine or contaminated aquifer, wetlands, or near-stream discharge/recharge zones. They expect studies that incorporate measurements of a variety of reaction footprints including compound disappearance, production of signature metabolites, consumption of electron acceptors, reactions on solid surfaces, and changes in composition or function of microbial populations. The conveners expect presentations that use novel applications of stable isotope probing or molecular methods and that integrate microbiological and geochemical data in order to document biodegradation reactions. In addition the conveners are especially interested in papers that use these in situ approaches to estimate biodegradation rates. The session is hosted by Geological Society of America (GSA) Hydrogeology Division and Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies.

USGS Presentations

• Using Peristaltic Bailing to Obtain Ground Water Samples in Push Probe Profiling of a Subsurface BTEX Plume, by William N. Herkelrath (USGS), Geoffrey N. Delin, (USGS), abd Isabelle M. Cozzarelli (USGS)
• Influence of Dissolved Oxygen Convection on Well Sampling, by Don A. Vroblesky (USGS), Clifton C. Casey (U.S. Navy), and Mark A. Lowery (USGS)
• In Situ Test System for Evaluating Microbial Community Structure and Metabolic Activity Under Natural and Engineered Conditions, by Duane Graves (Geosyntec Consultants), Phil Dennis (SiREM Laboratory), Michelle Lorah (USGS), and Eric Vogler (USGS)
• In Situ Microcosm Biodegradation Rates of Alkylbenzenes Under Iron-Reducing Conditions, by Barbara A. Bekins (USGS), and Isabelle M. Cozzarelli (USGS)
• A New Approach for Determining In Situ Microbial Response to Geochemical Perturbations, by Tara A. Kneeshaw (California State University Fullerton), Jennifer T. McGuire (Texas A&M University), Erik W. Smith (Texs A&M Univ), Isabelle M. Cozzarelli (USGS), Mary Voytek (USGS), and Julie Kirshtein (USGS)

The 2008 Joint Annual Meeting is sponsored by the Geological Society of America (GSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and the Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies with the Gulf Coast Section of SEPM (GCAGS). The meeting is hosted by the Houston Geological Society (HGS).

Conveners

• Isabelle Cozzarelli, USGS,
• Michelle Lorah, USGS,

General Conference Information

• 2008 Joint Annual Meeting Home Page
• Full Session Agenda
• Full Conference Program

More Information on Biodegradation from the USGS

• Crude Oil Contamination in the Shallow Subsurface, Bemidji, Minnesota
• Processes Affecting the Natural Attenuation of Fuels in Ground Water
• Fuel Oxygenates -- Laurel Bay, South Carolina
• Gasoline -- Galloway Township, New Jersey
• Produced Water -- Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Project, Oklahoma
• Fate of Landfill Leachate, Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Oklahoma
• Processes that Control the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Geochemical and Microbiological Processes that Affect Migration and Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents in Fractured Sedimentary Rock, Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Research Site, West Trenton, New Jersey
• Microbial Degradation of Chloroethenes in Ground Water Systems
• Application of Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology to Understand the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Multiphase Contaminant Transport, Reaction And Biodegradation Project
• Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Environments: Understanding Fate in a Changing Biogeochemical Landscape
• Comparative Study of Organic Degradation in Selected Hydrologic Environments
• Transport and Biogeochemical Fate of Organic Substances in Aquatic Environments
• Microbiology and Molecular Ecology of Biogeochemical Cycles in Aquatic Environments

Related Headlines

• Detergents in Streams May Just Disappear
• Hydrogen Measured in a New Test for Determining Subsurface Microbiological Activity at Contamination Sites
• New Report Presents a Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Monitored Natural Attenuation
• RDX Biodegradation Under Metal-Reducing Conditions
• New Information on the Long-Term Fate of Ammonium in Ground Water
• Microorganisms Degrade MTBE Even at Winter Ground-Water Temperatures
• Does NDMA Biodegrade at Ground-Water Recharge Facilities?
• Ground-Water Recharge Affects Fate of Petroleum Contaminant Plumes
• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation--A Review
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants -- Lessons Learned
• USGS Scientists Contribute to the Landmark "Treatise on Geochemistry"
• A Unique Approach to Evaluating Natural Attenuation is Applied Worldwide
• Landmark Book Published on the Fate of Contaminants in the Environment: Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems
• Using Oxygen to Clean Up Ground-Water Contamination
• MTBE Can Degrade Naturally Without Oxygen
• How Do You Clean Up Gasoline Spills Naturally?
• Relying on Nature to Clean Up Contaminated Ground Water
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation
• Can a Sewage-Contaminated Aquifer Naturally Clean Itself?
• Natural Attenuation of MTBE at Laurel Bay, South Carolina

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