Role of Microenvironments and Transition Zones in Subsurface Reactive Contaminant Transport
EMSL Project ID
48205
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 other contaminants of interest. 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 other contaminants of interest that grate 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 biogeochemical processes. The SFA will partner with the PNNL Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) to develop molecular understandings of key processes.
Project Details
Start Date
2013-11-04
End Date
2014-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members
Related Publications
Breuer M, KM Rosso, and J Blumberger. 2014. "Electron Flow in Multiheme Bacterial Cytochromes is a Balancing Act Between Heme Electronic Interaction and Redox Potentials." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(2):611-616. doi:10.1073/pnas.1316156111
Kerisit SN, and C Liu. 2014. "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Uranyl and Uranyl Carbonate Adsorption at Alumino-silicate Surfaces." Environmental Science & Technology. doi:10.1021/es405387c
Pearce CI, J Liu, DR Baer, O Qafoku, SM Heald, E Arenholz, AE Grosz, JP McKinley, CT Resch, ME Bowden, MH Engelhard, and KM Rosso. 2014. "Characterization of natural titanomagnetites (Fe3-xTixO4) for studying heterogeneous electron transfer to Tc(VII) in the Hanford subsurface." Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 128:114-127. doi:10.1016/j.gca.2013.12.010
Scheibe TD, WA Perkins, MC Richmond, MI McKinley, PDJ Romero-Gomez, M Oostrom, TW Wietsma, JA Serkowski, and JM Zachara. 2015. "Pore-scale and multiscale numerical simulation of flow and transport in a laboratory-scale column." Water Resources Research. doi:10.1002/2014WR015959