In‐situ apparent conductivity measurements and microbial population distribution at a hydrocarbon‐contaminated site

Geophysics ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Estella A. Atekwana ◽  
D. Dale Werkema ◽  
Joseph W. Duris ◽  
Silvia Rossbach ◽  
Eliot A. Atekwana ◽  
...  

We investigated the bulk electrical conductivity and microbial population distribution in sediments at a site contaminated with light nonaqueous‐phase liquid (LNAPL). The bulk conductivity was measured using in‐situ vertical resistivity probes; the most probable number method was used to characterize the spatial distribution of aerobic heterotrophic and oil‐degrading microbial populations. The purpose of this study was to assess if high conductivity observed at aged LNAPL‐impacted sites may be related to microbial degradation of LNAPL. The results show higher bulk conductivity coincident with LNAPL‐impacted zones, in contrast to geoelectrical models that predict lower conductivity in such zones. The highest bulk conductivity was observed to be associated with zones impacted by residual and free LNAPL. Data from bacteria enumeration from sediments close to the resistivity probes show that oil‐degrading microbes make up a larger percentage (5–55%) of the heterotrophic microbial community at depths coincident with the higher conductivity compared to ∼5% at the uncontaminated location. The coincidence of a higher percentage of oil‐degrading microbial populations in zones of higher bulk conductivity suggests that the higher conductivity in these zones may result from increased fluid conductivity related to microbial degradation of LNAPL, consistent with geochemical studies that suggest that intrinsic biodegradation is occurring at the site. The findings from this study point to the fact that biogeochemical processes accompanying biodegradation of contaminants can potentially alter geoelectrical properties of the subsurface impacted media.

2008 ◽  
Vol 74 (12) ◽  
pp. 3718-3729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erick Cardenas ◽  
Wei-Min Wu ◽  
Mary Beth Leigh ◽  
Jack Carley ◽  
Sue Carroll ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Microbial enumeration, 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, and chemical analysis were used to evaluate the in situ biological reduction and immobilization of uranium(VI) in a long-term experiment (more than 2 years) conducted at a highly uranium-contaminated site (up to 60 mg/liter and 800 mg/kg solids) of the U.S. Department of Energy in Oak Ridge, TN. Bioreduction was achieved by conditioning groundwater above ground and then stimulating growth of denitrifying, Fe(III)-reducing, and sulfate-reducing bacteria in situ through weekly injection of ethanol into the subsurface. After nearly 2 years of intermittent injection of ethanol, aqueous U levels fell below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level for drinking water and groundwater (<30 μg/liter or 0.126 μM). Sediment microbial communities from the treatment zone were compared with those from a control well without biostimulation. Most-probable-number estimations indicated that microorganisms implicated in bioremediation accumulated in the sediments of the treatment zone but were either absent or in very low numbers in an untreated control area. Organisms belonging to genera known to include U(VI) reducers were detected, including Desulfovibrio, Geobacter, Anaeromyxobacter, Desulfosporosinus, and Acidovorax spp. The predominant sulfate-reducing bacterial species were Desulfovibrio spp., while the iron reducers were represented by Ferribacterium spp. and Geothrix spp. Diversity-based clustering revealed differences between treated and untreated zones and also within samples of the treated area. Spatial differences in community structure within the treatment zone were likely related to the hydraulic pathway and to electron donor metabolism during biostimulation.


1998 ◽  
Vol 61 (7) ◽  
pp. 903-906 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN PAO ◽  
G. ELDON BROWN

Citrus fruit surface microbial populations were evaluated following various packingline processes of seven Florida commercial packinghouses. At each packinghouse, six fruits (oranges or tangerines) were collected at each of four sampling points. The sampling was conducted in duplicate; thus, 336 fruit were evaluated during this survey. Average aerobic plate counts and yeast and mold counts on fruit surfaces before washing were about 4.0 log CFU/cm2 and 3.3 log CFU/cm2, respectively, and were reduced to 2.1 log CFU/cm2 and 1.3 log CFU/cm2, respectively, by packinghouse processing. Waxing alone reduced the average fruit surface aerobic plate counts and coliform counts from 3.7 log CFU/cm2 and 35.2 most probable number (MPN)/cm2, respectively, to 2.6 log CFU/cm2 and 1.4 MPN/cm2. No Escherichia coli was recovered from fruit at the end of packinghouse processing, and no salmonellae were found on fruit during the entire processing. In an inoculation study to test the effect of packinghouse processes, test organism E. coli was applied to fruit to achieve a high level (4.8 log CFU/cm2) of contamination. The average E. coli count was reduced about 2.4 log cycles by washing and rinsing with potable water (40 psi, 25 °C) for about 30 s. The combination of washing and waxing significantly reduced the inoculated level of E. coli from 4.8 to 1.4 log CFU/cm2.


2006 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 1118-1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. DALLAIRE ◽  
D. I. LeBLANC ◽  
C. C. TRANCHANT ◽  
L. VASSEUR ◽  
P. DELAQUIS ◽  
...  

Microbial populations and the temperature of fresh broccoli were monitored at several steps of a supply chain by sampling 33 distinct lots of locally grown produce over two seasons during harvest, storage, wholesale handling, and retail display. Imported broccoli was also sampled, but only at retail display. Microbiological analyses were conducted on the florets of 201 local and 60 imported broccoli samples to determine populations of total aerobic bacteria (aerobic colony count), fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes. All the samples had mean aerobic colony counts ranging between 4 and 6 log CFU/g, but L. monocytogenes was not detected (limit of detection = 100 CFU/g). Fecal coliforms and E. coli (limit of detection = 20 most probable number per 100 g) were found in 22 of 126 samples of local broccoli collected at various steps of the production and distribution system during the first season. None was found in 75 samples collected in the second season. Fecal coliforms and E. coli were found in 2 of 60 imported broccoli samples. Broccoli temperatures were relatively well controlled throughout the production and distribution system. No clear change in produce microbial populations was evident between harvest and retail display, during both sampling seasons. However, a large experimental variability was found, possibly associated with the high variability of the initial levels of microbial populations on broccoli at harvest.


1978 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 647-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMES F. FOSTER ◽  
RICHARD C. HUNDERFUND ◽  
JAMES L. FOWLER ◽  
JOHN T. FRUIN ◽  
LINDA S. GUTHERTZ

A survey of the microbial populations of 31 samples of ground beef (GB), textured soy protein (TSP), and ground beef extended with TSP (SGB) after 3 and 10 days of storage at 4 C was done. Analyses included aerobic plate count (APC), psychrotrophic plate count (PPC), coliform Most Probable Number (CMPN) and plate determinations (CPC), Escherichia coli MPN (EMPN) and plate determinations (EPC), Staphylococcus aureus MPN, and fecal streptococcus plate count. Statistical analyses of data from the enumeration procedures showed significant increases in the total microbial flora after 10 days of storage. PPCs were significantly higher than APCs. CMPNs were significantly higher than CPCs for GB and SGB. The EMPNs were significantly higher than EPCs in SGB only. These products contained a variety of microorganisms many in large numbers; however if properly handled and cooked before consumption, these products should present no public health problems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 262 ◽  
pp. 70-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Ballerstedt ◽  
Eva Pakostova ◽  
D. Barrie Johnson ◽  
Axel Schippers

The major objective of the EU Horizon 2020 project “BioMOre” is the technical realization of indirect in situ leaching of Kupferschiefer sandstone and black shale ore by a ferric iron lixiviant generated by a mixed culture of autotrophic, acidophilic, iron-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in a ferric iron-generating bioreactor (FIGB). These organisms could colonize the deeply buried geological formations even under anaerobic conditions as most are able to grow by coupling the reduction of ferric iron to the oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds in the absence of oxygen. Development of an inhibition protocol to eliminate these allochthonous microbial bioreactor populations subsequent to the completion of in situ bioleaching was therefore investigated. Column bioleaching experiments using a laboratory-scale FIGB confirmed not only that metals were solubilised from both the sandstone and shale ores, but also that significant numbers of bacteria were released from the FIGB. The efficacy of 13 different chemical compounds in inhibiting microbial iron oxidation has been tested at different concentrations in shake flask and FIGB-coupled columns. Iron-oxidation activity, microcalorimetrically-determined activity and ATP measurements, in combination with microscopic cell counts and biomolecular analysis (T-RFLP, qPCR), plate counts and most-probable-number (MPN), were used to monitor the inhibiting effects on the acidophiles. Complete inhibition of metabolic activity of iron-oxidizing acidophiles was achieved in the presence of 0.4 mM formate, 300 mM chloride, 100 mM nitrate, 10 mM of primary C6 to C8 alcohols, 100 mM 1-butanol, 100 mM 1-pentanol, 0.1 mM SDS or 0.35 mM benzoic acid. No inhibition was found for 0.6 mM acetic acid and 200 mM methanol. Based on these results a recipe for the chemical composition of the “decommissioning solution” is proposed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Fusconi ◽  
Mirna Januária Leal Godinho

The microbial populations of groundwaters were analyzed in a region under the influence of a landfill (piezometer L12) in the town of São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil, and in an area not influenced by the landfill (piezometer L5). Heterotrophic bacteria were counted by spread plate method and the number of protozoa was estimated by the most probable number method. There was a larger number of organisms in well L12, with a mean value of 15.76 x 104 CFU/ml for bacteria and 9.7 MPN/ml for protozoa, whereas the mean values for piezometer L5 were 2.88 x 104 CFU/ml for bacteria and 3.4 MPN/ml for protozoa. The greater abundance detected in piezometer L12 may be related to the influence of the leachate through the landfill on the microbial populations, also demonstrated by deoxygenation and by the high conductivity values (3530 µS/cm) compared to piezometer L5 (2.47 mg/L dissolved oxygen and 42 µS/cm conductivity). The most commonly detected protozoa were amoebae and flagellates. The density of flagellate protozoa determined under microaerophilic conditions was 10 times higher than that determined under aerobic conditions.


1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 257-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry Murdoch ◽  
Bill Harrar ◽  
Bertel Nilsson ◽  
William Slack ◽  
Robert Siegrist

Subsurface parameters, such as hydraulic head, often vary markedly with depth in fine-grained glacial sediments, but sensors placed in vertical boreholes are poorly suited to resolve these variations. One problem is that conventional methods only allow one, or perhaps a few, sensors to be placed in each borehole. To address such limitations we have developed a method for accessing the sidewall of a borehole. The method uses a device that pushes sensors or sediment samplers laterally into the sidewall to distances slightly less than the diameter of the borehole. The device can obtain a core sample 15 cm long and 4 cm in diameter, and then insert a permeable sleeve for extracting water samples. The same device has been used to insert several types of electrodes capable of measuring water content (using TDR waveguides), Eh (using platinum electrodes), or electrical resistivity (using a miniature Wenner-type array). At a site near Flakkebjerg, Denmark, we installed 22 water samplers and 19 resistivity electrodes in a single borehole to measure hydraulic head gradients in detail and to monitor the vertical migration of ionic tracers. This approach can be used to install horizontally oriented TDR waveguides at virtually any depth, thereby extending the TDR technique to the study of deep vadose zones. At a contaminated site in the USA, TDR wave guides were installed to a depth of 12 m in glacial till. Other applications include measurement of Eh at a site where in situ chemical oxidization was used, and the in situ sensors provided results that are similar to data obtained from soil cores.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Haines ◽  
B A Wrenn ◽  
E L Holder ◽  
K L Strohmeier ◽  
R T Herrington ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 905-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Servais ◽  
Josué Prats ◽  
Julien Passerat ◽  
Tamara Garcia-Armisen

Approved methods traditionally used for Escherichia coli enumeration in waters are culture-based. However, these methods can underestimate the E. coli abundance in aquatic systems because they do not take into account cells that remain viable but have lost the ability to grow in or on culture media. We investigated, in freshwater samples, the abundance of (i) culturable E. coli, enumerated by the most probable number microplate method and (ii) viable E. coli, estimated using a procedure called DVC–FISH, which couples fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and a viability testing technique (direct viable count (DVC)). The ratio of culturable to viable E. coli was close to 1 in highly contaminated waters (samples with a high concentration of culturable E. coli), but decreased drastically for weakly contaminated samples. This indicates a large fraction of viable but nonculturable (VBNC) E. coli in the latter samples. Microcosm experiments showed that some environmental factors, such as nutrient scarcity and solar irradiation, could lead to the presence of a high proportion of VBNC E. coli.


2021 ◽  
Vol 328 ◽  
pp. 08014
Author(s):  
Tarzan Purnomo ◽  
Kandilia Sahani ◽  
Toni Wahyudi

This study aims to analyze the carrying capacity of the coastal waters of Blekok and the coast of Kerapu, Situbondo, East Java as a conservation area for mangroves, blekok birds and grouper fish cultivation. The study used the in situ observation method, carried out in January–February 2021. The sampling was on Blekok beach at latitude coordinates: -7.69742 and longitude: 113.92206, on Kerapu beach at latitude coordinates: -7.69568 and longitude: 113.89666. At each beach the data is taken at 3 stations, at each station 3 sub stations are taken. Parameters measured include physical (temperature, turbidity, TSS, TDS), chemical (pH, salinity, DO, BOD, Cu), and biology (total Coliform) were measured in situ and at the Environmental Laboratory, Situbondo Environmental Service. Analysis of Cu concentration using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer method. Coliform total analysis used the Most Probable Number method. The data were analyzed descriptively qualitative-quantitatively and compared with the quality standard of the Minister of Environment Decree No. 51/2004. The results showed that the physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the coastal waters of Blekok and Kerapu beaches were in accordance with quality standards so the carrying capacity as a mangrove conservation area, blekok birds, grouper cultivation and tourism is very good.


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