Michael Wilkins | Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Microbial controls on biogeochemical cycling in deep subsurface shale carbon reservoirs

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Kelly Wrighton

Project type

FICUS Research

Terrestrial deep shales and their interfaces are carbon-rich environments that represent a significant component of the U.S. energy portfolio. Energy resources in these environments have recently…

Dynamic sulfur pools as a control on methane flux in freshwater Prairie Pothole lacustrine sediments

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

Inland waters (wetlands, lakes) play a poorly constrained role in regional and global carbon cycling, and may account for much of the uncertainty in climate change models. Although lake sediments are…

Role of Microenvironments and Transition Zones in Field scale microbial ecology and biogeochemistry

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James McKinley

Project type

Exploratory Research

This is a renewal proposal for a previous collaborative effort between the PNNL Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and EMSL. The research proposed will resolve critical Hanford and basic subsurface science…

Life in the deep terrestrial subsurface: microbial metabolism before and after shale gas extraction

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Exploratory Research

Black shales underlay much of the continental U.S., and are a critical component of current and future energy resources. To extract hydrocarbons from these formations, shales are hydraulically…

Role of Microenvironments and Transition Zones in Field Scale Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James McKinley

Project type

Limited Scope

This is a renewal proposal for a previous collaborative effort between the PNNL Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and EMSL. The research proposed will resolve critical Hanford and basic subsurface science…

Drivers of Microbial Community Development and Persistence in Deep Subsurface Shales

Lead Institution

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Lee Ann McCue

Hydraulic fracturing, the extraction of oil and gas from deep shale reservoirs via high-pressure injection of fluids, is now a critical part of the US energy portfolio. Microbial communities…

Understanding biogeochemical processes driven by naturally occurring organic material in a U-contaminated aquifer

Lead Institution

University of New Hampshire

Principal Investigator

Paula Mouser

Project type

Limited Scope

Organic material present in subsurface environments is able to drive biogeochemical cycles, with implications for carbon flux, contaminant metal remediation, and nutrient flow. At the Rifle…

Understanding Viral and Geochemical Controls on High Sulfate Reduction Rates in Prairie Wetlands

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Limited Scope

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America contains millions of small depressional wetlands, and is responsible for some of the highest atmospheric methane (CH4) and CO2 fluxes ever measured…

Diffusion of ions and electron shuttles into grain-scale mineral coatings

Lead Institution

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James Davis

Project type

Exploratory Research

Important reactive phenomena that affect the transport and fate of many elements and contaminants in the subsurface occur at the mineral-water interface, including sorption and electron transfer…

Shales across scales: Identifying conserved biogeochemistry and microbial metabolism across geographically distinct deep subsurface ecosystems

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The hydraulic fracturing of hydrocarbon bearing shales to yield oil and gas is now a critical part of the US energy portfolio. Microorganisms present in injected fluids colonize these environments,…

Understanding microbial dynamics in a biostimulated aquifer using combined Omics approaches

Lead Institution

University of California, Berkeley

Principal Investigator

Jillian Banfield

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

At the Rifle Integrated Field Research Challenge (IFRC) site in Colorado, carbon amendments to the subsurface are used to stimulate growth of the indigenous microbial community. The microbial…

Understanding Viral and Geochemical Controls on High Sulfate Reduction Rates in Prairie Wetlands

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Limited Scope

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America contains millions of small depressional wetlands, and is responsible for some of the highest atmospheric methane (CH4) and CO2 fluxes ever measured…

Investigating the Effects of Geologic CO2 Sequestration on Microbial Physiology, Metabolism and Functionality.

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The injection of greenhouse gases into deep geologic formations offers a promising strategy for reducing emissions into the atmosphere that contribute to global warming. The injection of CO2 as a…

Hydrobiogeochemical feedbacks across seasonal and decadal time-scales: implications for solute fate and transport in riverbed ecosystems

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

FICUS Research

Upland rivers host exceptionally strong linkages between the terrestrial and aquatic elemental cycles. Due to their abundance and tight connections with terrestrial ecosystems from which they receive…

Proteomics Measurements of Functional Redundancy and Stability Testing of Cellulose Degrading Anaerobic Microbial Communities within Engineered Bioreactors

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Stephen Callister

An understanding of the role of functional redundancy within a microbial community is fundamental to predicting the stability associated with key services provided by that community. One provided…

Investigating the Effects of Geologic CO2 Sequestration on Microbial Physiology, Metabolism and Functionality.

Lead Institution

Colorado State University

Principal Investigator

Michael Wilkins

Project type

Exploratory Research

The injection of greenhouse gases into deep geologic formations offers a promising strategy for reducing emissions into the atmosphere that contribute to global warming. The injection of CO2 as a…

The Role of Microenvironments and Physicochemical Subsurface Components on Field Scale Biogeochemistry and Contaminant Mobility

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James McKinley

Project type

Exploratory Research

This is a renewal proposal for a previous collaborative effort between the PNNL Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and EMSL. The research proposed will resolve critical Hanford and basic subsurface science…

Natural Organic Matter Composition and its Influence on Microbial Dynamics and Biogeochemical Processes at the Catchment Scale

Lead Institution

University of New Hampshire

Principal Investigator

Paula Mouser

Project type

Exploratory Research

Natural organic material (NOM) present in surface and subsurface environments is able to drive biogeochemical cycles, with implications for carbon flux, nutrient flow, and contaminant metal…

Role of Microenvironments and Transition Zones in Subsurface Reactive Contaminant Transport

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

James McKinley

This is a renewal proposal for a previous collaborative effort between the PNNL Scientific Focus Area (SFA) and EMSL. The research proposed will resolve critical Hanford and basic subsurface science…

Integrating genome-scale metabolic modeling of a microbial community into simulations of subsurface flow and biogeochemical reactive transport.

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Steven Yabusaki

Project type

Exploratory Research

The goal of this project is to develop a mechanistic, quantitative, and predictive simulation capability for coupled flow and biogeochemical reactive transport that accounts for • genome-specific…

Integrating genome-scale metabolic modeling of a microbial community into simulations of subsurface flow and biogeochemical reactive transport.

Lead Institution

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Principal Investigator

Steven Yabusaki

Project type

Large-Scale EMSL Research

The goal of this project is to develop a mechanistic, quantitative, and predictive simulation capability for coupled flow and biogeochemical reactive transport that accounts for: - genome-specific…

Influence of DOM amendment and molecular form on uranium reduction rates in U-contaminated sediments

Lead Institution

University of New Hampshire

Principal Investigator

Paula Mouser

Project type

Limited Scope

Long-term stewardship of remediated sites relies on the sequestration capability of sediments to retain contaminants, such as uranium (U) over many decades. Natural organic matter (NOM) in the form…

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