Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Constraints in the colonization of natural and engineered subterranean igneous rock aquifers by aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria inferred by culture analysis

Chi Fru, Ernest ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2673-0565 2008. Constraints in the colonization of natural and engineered subterranean igneous rock aquifers by aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria inferred by culture analysis. Geobiology 6 (4) , pp. 365-375. 10.1111/j.1472-4669.2008.00164.x

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB) are suggested to be important for the removal of oxygen from subterranean aquifers that become oxygenated by natural and engineering processes. This is primarily because MOB are ubiquitous in the environment and in addition reduce oxygen efficiently. The biogeochemical factors that will control the success of the aerobic MOB in these kinds of underground aquifers remain unknown. In this study, viable and cultivable MOB occurring at natural and engineered deep granitic aquifers targeted for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in the Fennoscandian Shield (~3–1000 m) were enumerated. The numbers were correlated with in situ salinity, methane concentrations, conductivity, pH, and depth. A mixed population habiting freshwater aquifers (~3–20 m), a potential source for the inoculation of MOB into the deeper aquifers was tested for tolerance to NaCl, temperature, pH, and an ability to produce cysts and exospores. Extrapolations show that due to changing in situ parameters (salinity, conductivity, and pH), the numbers of MOB in the aquifers dropped quickly with depth. A positive correlation between the most probable numbers of MOB and methane concentrations was observed. Furthermore, the tolerance-based tests of cultured strains indicated that the MOB in the shallow aquifers thrived best in mesophilic and neutrophilic conditions as opposed to the hyperthermophilic and alkaliphilic conditions expected to develop in an engineered subterranean SNF repository. Overall, the survival of the MOB both quantitatively and physiologically in the granitic aquifers was under the strong influence of biogeochemical factors that are strongly depth-dependent.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher: Wiley
ISSN: 1472-4677
Date of Acceptance: 31 March 2008
Last Modified: 03 Nov 2022 09:44
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/105877

Citation Data

Cited 5 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item