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


EMSL Project ID
42319

Abstract

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 issues through integrated, multi-disciplinary, science-theme focused research on the role of microenvironments and transition zones in the reactive transport of technetium (Tc), uranium (U), and plutonium (Pu). The overall ten-year goals of the SFA are to develop: i.) an integrated conceptual model for microbial ecology in the Hanford subsurface and its influence on contaminant migration, ii.) a fundamental understanding of chemical reaction, biotransformation, and physical transport processes in microenvironments and transition zones, and iii.) quantitative biogeochemical reactive transport models for Tc, U, and Pu that integrate multi-process coupling at different spatial scales for field-scale application. Targeted contaminant chemical reaction and biotransformation processes include heterogeneous/biologic electron transfer, precipitation and dissolution, and surface complexation. The EMSL component of this research will be laboratory experiments and measurements to further the understanding of field-scale phenomena. We will use sediments and microbial isolates from various Hanford settings to explore molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic processes underlying field-scale contaminant migration. The SFA will partner with the PNNL Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) to develop molecular understandings of key processes, and the Hanford Integrated Field Challenge (IFC) for access to, and samples from subsurface environments where these zones exist and are important.

Project Details

Project type
Limited Scope
Start Date
2010-09-17
End Date
2010-11-11
Status
Closed

Team

Principal Investigator

James McKinley
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Team Members

Zhangshuan Hou
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Carolyn Pearce
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Robert Ewing
Institution
Iowa State University

Michael Wilkins
Institution
Colorado State University

Timothy Scheibe
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Piotr Zarzycki
Institution
Polish Academy of Sciences

Matthew Marshall
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Andrew Felmy
Institution
Washington State University

Frances Skomurski
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Sebastien Kerisit
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Thomas Wietsma
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Tetyana Peretyazhko
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Allan Konopka
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Liang Shi
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Mark Engelhard
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Yilin Fang
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Chongxuan Liu
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Glenn Hammond
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Mark Rockhold
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Scott Fendorf
Institution
Stanford University

Peter Lichtner
Institution
Los Alamos National Laboratory

James Fredrickson
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Timothy Droubay
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Zheming Wang
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Odeta Qafoku
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Kevin Rosso
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

John Zachara
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Ravi Kukkadapu
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Bruce Arey
Institution
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Related Publications

Ewing RG, C Liu, and Q Hu. 2012. "Modeling Intragranular Diffusion in Low-Connectivity Granular Media." Water Resources Research 48:Article No. W03518. doi:10.1029/2011WR011407
Kerisit SN, and C Liu. 2012. "Diffusion and Adsorption of Uranyl Carbonate Species in Nanosized Mineral Fractures." Environmental Science & Technology 46(3):1632-1640.
Zachara JM, PE Long, J Bargar, JA Davis, PM Fox, JK Fredrickson, MD Freshley, A Konopka, C Liu, JP McKinley, ML Rockhold, KH Williams, and SB Yabusaki. 2013. "Persistence of uranium groundwater plumes: Contrasting mechanisms at two DOE sites in the groundwater-river interaction zone." Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 147:45-72. doi:10.1016/j.jconhyd.2013.02.001