Progression of natural attenuation processes at a crude oil spill site: II. Controls on spatial distribution of microbial populations

Bekins, Barbara A.; Cozzarelli, Isabelle M.; Godsy, E. Michael; Warren, Ean; Essaid, Hedeff I.; Tuccillo, Mary Ellen

doi:10.1016/s0169-7722(01)00175-9

Cited by 109 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…We link microbial data based on nucleic acid extracts of aquifer sediments to groundwater and sediment geochemical data obtained from the same site, an approach which has previously been shown to provide valuable insights into aquifer microbiota/process correlations (5,13,18). The present study regards these couplings in fine spatial resolution, with sampling intervals ranging between 5 and 15 cm in zones of special interest and between 30 and 60 cm in deeper zones.…”

Section: Geochemical and Microbial Zonation In The Flingern Plumementioning

confidence: 99%

Depth-Resolved Quantification of Anaerobic Toluene Degraders and Aquifer Microbial Community Patterns in Distinct Redox Zones of a Tar Oil Contaminant Plume

Winderl

Anneser

Griebler

et al. 2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

187

215

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Microbial degradation is the only sustainable component of natural attenuation in contaminated groundwater environments, yet its controls, especially in anaerobic aquifers, are still poorly understood. Hence, putative spatial correlations between specific populations of key microbial players and the occurrence of respective degradation processes remain to be unraveled. We therefore characterized microbial community distribution across a high-resolution depth profile of a tar oil-impacted aquifer where benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) degradation depends mainly on sulfate reduction. We conducted depthresolved terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting and quantitative PCR of bacterial 16S rRNA and benzylsuccinate synthase genes (bssA) to quantify the distribution of total microbiota and specific anaerobic toluene degraders. We show that a highly specialized degrader community of microbes related to known deltaproteobacterial iron and sulfate reducers (Geobacter and Desulfocapsa spp.), as well as clostridial fermenters (Sedimentibacter spp.), resides within the biogeochemical gradient zone underneath the highly contaminated plume core. This zone, where BTEX compounds and sulfate-an important electron acceptor-meet, also harbors a surprisingly high abundance of the yet-unidentified anaerobic toluene degraders carrying the previously detected F1-cluster bssA genes (C. Winderl, S. Schaefer, and T. Lueders, Environ. Microbiol. 9:1035-1046, 2007). Our data suggest that this biogeochemical gradient zone is a hot spot of anaerobic toluene degradation. These findings show that the distribution of specific aquifer microbiota and degradation processes in contaminated aquifers are tightly coupled, which may be of value for the assessment and prediction of natural attenuation based on intrinsic aquifer microbiota.

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Section: Geochemical and Microbial Zonation In The Flingern Plumementioning

confidence: 99%

Depth-Resolved Quantification of Anaerobic Toluene Degraders and Aquifer Microbial Community Patterns in Distinct Redox Zones of a Tar Oil Contaminant Plume

Winderl

Anneser

Griebler

et al. 2008

Appl Environ Microbiol

187

215

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“…Field evidence Bekins et al, 2001) suggests that the benzene plume is expanding with time as the ground-water plume evolves from iron reducing to methanogenic conditions. Concentration trends observed in Fig.…”

Section: Iron Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inverse modeling of BTEX dissolution and biodegradation at the Bemidji, MN crude-oil spill site

Essaid

Cozzarelli

Eganhouse

et al. 2003

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology

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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) solute transport and biodegradation code BIOMOC was used in conjunction with the USGS universal inverse modeling code UCODE to quantify field-scale hydrocarbon dissolution and biodegradation at the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program crude-oil spill research site located near Bemidji, MN. This inverse modeling effort used the extensive historical data compiled at the Bemidji site from 1986 to 1997 and incorporated a multicomponent transport and biodegradation model. Inverse modeling was successful when coupled transport and degradation processes were incorporated into the model and a single dissolution rate coefficient was used for all BTEX components. Assuming a stationary oil body, we simulated benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, and o-xylene (BTEX) concentrations in the oil and ground water, respectively, as well as dissolved oxygen. Dissolution from the oil phase and aerobic and anaerobic degradation processes were represented. The parameters estimated were the recharge rate, hydraulic conductivity, dissolution rate coefficient, individual first-order BTEX anaerobic degradation rates, and transverse dispersivity. Results were similar for simulations obtained using several alternative conceptual models of the hydrologic system and biodegradation processes. The dissolved BTEX concentration data were not sufficient to discriminate between these conceptual models. The calibrated simulations reproduced the general large-scale evolution of the plume, but did not reproduce the observed small-scale spatial and temporal variability in concentrations. The estimated anaerobic biodegradation rates for toluene and o-xylene were greater than the dissolution rate coefficient. However, the estimated anaerobic biodegradation rates for benzene, ethylbenzene, and m,p-xylene were less than the dissolution rate coefficient. The calibrated model was used to determine the BTEX mass balance in the oil body and groundwater plume. This article is a U.S. government work, and is not subject to copyright in the United States.Dissolution from the oil body was greatest for compounds with large effective solubilities (benzene) and with large degradation rates (toluene and o-xylene). Anaerobic degradation removed 77% of the BTEX that dissolved into the water phase and aerobic degradation removed 17%. Although goodness-of-fit measures for the alternative conceptual models were not significantly different, predictions made with the models were quite variable. D

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“…Microbially mediated ecosystem resilience underlies monitored natural attenuation (Botton et al, 2006). Although many field studies of monitored natural attenuation for a variety of chemical pollutants have been previously reported (for example, Dojka et al, 1998;Bekins et al, 2001;Cozzarelli et al, 2001;Kleikemper et al, 2002;Suarez and Rifai, 2002;Ulrich et al, 2003;Griebler et al, 2004;Hunkeler et al, 2005;Takahata et al, 2006), to our knowledge, none have comprehensively integrated (1) the long-term field evidence for contaminant elimination, (2) temporal variability in microbial community composition and (3) the composition of an elaborate eukaryotic microbial food chain responding to the contamination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subsurface ecosystem resilience: long-term attenuation of subsurface contaminants supports a dynamic microbial community

et al. 2009

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The propensity for groundwater ecosystems to recover from contamination by organic chemicals (in this case, coal-tar waste) is of vital concern for scientists and engineers who manage polluted sites. The microbially mediated cleanup processes are also of interest to ecologists because they are an important mechanism for the resilience of ecosystems. In this study we establish the long-term dynamic nature of a coal-tar waste-contaminated site and its microbial community. We present 16 years of chemical monitoring data, tracking responses of a groundwater ecosystem to organic contamination (naphthalene, xylenes, toluene, 2-methyl naphthalene and acenaphthylene) associated with coal-tar waste. In addition, we analyzed small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes from two contaminated wells at multiple time points over a 2-year period. Principle component analysis of community rRNA fingerprints (terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP)) showed that the composition of native microbial communities varied temporally, yet remained distinctive from well to well. After screening and analysis of 1178 cloned SSU rRNA genes from Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya, we discovered that the site supports a robust variety of eukaryotes (for example, alveolates (especially anaerobic and predatory ciliates), stramenopiles, fungi, even the small metazoan flatworm, Suomina) that are absent from an uncontaminated control well. This study links the dynamic microbial composition of a contaminated site with the long-term attenuation of its subsurface contaminants.

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Progression of natural attenuation processes at a crude oil spill site: II. Controls on spatial distribution of microbial populations

Cited by 109 publications

References 34 publications

Depth-Resolved Quantification of Anaerobic Toluene Degraders and Aquifer Microbial Community Patterns in Distinct Redox Zones of a Tar Oil Contaminant Plume

Depth-Resolved Quantification of Anaerobic Toluene Degraders and Aquifer Microbial Community Patterns in Distinct Redox Zones of a Tar Oil Contaminant Plume

Inverse modeling of BTEX dissolution and biodegradation at the Bemidji, MN crude-oil spill site

Subsurface ecosystem resilience: long-term attenuation of subsurface contaminants supports a dynamic microbial community

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