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At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

USGS2011

Biodegradation and attenuation of steroidal hormones and alkylphenols by stream biofilms and sediments

Biodegradation of select endocrine-disrupting compounds (17β-estradiol, estrone, 17α-ethynylestradiol, 4-nonylphenol, 4-nonylphenolmonoexthoylate, and 4-nonylphenoldiethoxylate) was evaluated in stream biofilm, sediment, and water matrices collected from locations upstream and downstream from a wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge. Both biologically mediated transformation to intermediate metabolites and biologically mediated mineralization were evaluated in separate time interval experiments. Initial time intervals (0–7 d) evaluated biodegradation by the microbial community dominant at the time of sampling. Later time intervals (70 and 185 d) evaluated the biodegradation potential as the microbial community adapted to the absence of outside energy sources. The sediment matrix was more effective than the biofilm and water matrices at biodegrading 4-nonylphenol and 17β-estradiol. Biodegradation by the sediment matrix of 17α-ethynylestradiol occurred at later time intervals (70 and 185 d) and was not observed in the biofilm or water matrices. Stream biofilms play an important role in the attenuation of endocrine-disrupting compounds in surface waters due to both biodegradation and sorption processes. Because sorption to stream biofilms and bed sediments occurs on a faster temporal scale (<1 h) than the potential to biodegrade the target compounds (50% mineralization at >185 d), these compounds can accumulate in stream biofilms and sediments.

Environmental Science & Technology↗

USGS2023

Subsurface porewater flow accelerates talik development under the Alaska Highway, Yukon: A prelude to road collapse and permafrost thaw?

The presence of taliks (perennially unfrozen zones in permafrost areas) adversely affects the thermal stability of infrastructure in cold regions, including roads. The role of heat advection on talik development and feedback on permafrost degradation has not been quantified methodically in this context. We incorporate a surface energy balance model into a coupled groundwater flow and energy transport numerical model (SUTRA-ice). The model, calibrated with long-term observations (1997–2018 on the Alaska Highway), is used to investigate and quantify the role of heat advection on talik initiation and development under a road embankment. Over the 25-year simulation period, the new model is driven by reconstructed meteorological data and has a good agreement with near surface soil temperatures. The model successfully reproduces the increasing depth to the permafrost table (mean absolute error <0.2 m), and talik development. The results demonstrate that heat advection provides an additional energy source that expedites the rate of permafrost thaw and roughly doubles the rate of permafrost table deepening, compared to purely conductive thawing. Talik initially formed and grew over time under the combined effect of water flow, snow insulation, road construction and climate warming. Talik formation creates a new thermal state under the road embankment, resulting in acceleration of underlying permafrost degradation, due to the positive feedback of heat accumulation created by trapped unfrozen water. In a changing climate, mobile water flow will play a more important role in permafrost thaw and talik development under road embankments, and is likely to significantly increase maintenance costs and reduce the long-term stability of the infrastructure.

Yukon↗

USGS2024

Manganese-rich sandstones as an indicator of ancient oxic lake water conditions in Gale crater, Mars

Manganese has been observed on Mars by the NASA Curiosity rover in a variety of contexts and is an important indicator of redox processes in hydrologic systems on Earth. Within the Murray formation, an ancient primarily fine-grained lacustrine sedimentary deposit in Gale crater, Mars, have observed up to 45× enrichment in manganese and up to 1.5× enrichment in iron within coarser grained bedrock targets compared to the mean Murray sediment composition. This enrichment in manganese coincides with the transition between two stratigraphic units within the Murray: Sutton Island, interpreted as a lake margin environment, and Blunts Point, interpreted as a lake environment. On Earth, lacustrine environments are common locations of manganese precipitation due to highly oxidizing conditions in the lakes. Here, we explore three mechanisms for ferromanganese oxide precipitation at this location: authigenic precipitation from lake water along a lake shore, authigenic precipitation from reduced groundwater discharging through porous sands along a lake shore, and early diagenetic precipitation from groundwater through porous sands. All three scenarios require highly oxidizing conditions and we discuss oxidants that may be responsible for the oxidation and precipitation of manganese oxides. This work has important implications for the habitability of Mars to microbes that could have used Mn redox reactions, owing to its multiple redox states, as an energy source for metabolism.

JGR Planets↗

USGS1997

Industrially induced changes in Earth structure at the geysers geothermal area, California

Industrial exploitation is causing clearly-measurable changes in Earth structure at The Geysers geothermal area, California. Production at The Geysers peaked in the late 1980s at ∼3.5 × 10³ kg s −1 of steam and 1800 MW of electricity. It subsequently decreased by about 10% per year [ Barker et al. , 1992] because of declining reservoir pressure. The steam reservoir coincides with a strong negative anomaly (∼0.16, ∼9%) in the compressional-to-shear seismic wave speed ratio V P / V S , consistent with the expected effects of low-pressure vapor-phase pore fluid [ Julian et al. , 1996]. Between 1991 and 1994 this anomaly increased in amplitude by up to about 0.07 (∼4%). This is consistent with the expected effects of continued pressure reduction and conversion of pore water to steam as a result of exploitation. These unique results show that V P / V S tomography can easily detect saturation changes caused by exploitation of reservoirs, and is a potentially valuable technique for monitoring environmental change. They also provide geophysical observational evidence that geothermal energy is not a renewable energy source.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS1979

Alcoholic fermentation in swamp and upland populations of Nyssa sylvatica: Temporal changes in adaptive strategy

Both the upland and swamp varieties of Nyssa sylvatica respond initially to flooding with an acceleration of ethanol production. Under continued flooding the roots of the upland variety sylvatica have decreased rates of ethanol production, very likely a result of the progressively worsening necrosis of the root system. Few of these plants survive a full year of flooding. The swamp variety biflora survives and grows well under flooded conditions due to sequential metabolic and anatomical changes in the roots. Within a month after flooding, var. biflora initiates new roots with greatly accelerated rates of ethanol production, perhaps providing for a short-term compensatory energy source. Long-term acclimation to flooding involves a replacement of these roots and increased oxygen transport to the roots. The hypoxic conditions of the soil environment are avoided, and these rates of ethanol production are similar to those of drained plants.

American Naturalist↗

USGS2018

Spatial spectroscopic models for remote exploration

Ancient hydrothermal systems are a high-priority target for a future Mars sample return mission because they contain energy sources for microbes and can preserve organic materials (Farmer, 2000 ; MEPAG Next Decade Science Analysis Group, 2008 ; McLennan et al., 2012 ; Michalski et al., 2017 ). Characterizing these large, heterogeneous systems with a remote explorer is difficult due to communications bandwidth and latency; such a mission will require significant advances in spacecraft autonomy. Science autonomy uses intelligent sensor platforms that analyze data in real-time, setting measurement and downlink priorities to provide the best information toward investigation goals. Such automation must relate abstract science hypotheses to the measurable quantities available to the robot. This study captures these relationships by formalizing traditional “science traceability matrices” into probabilistic models. This permits experimental design techniques to optimize future measurements and maximize information value toward the investigation objectives, directing remote explorers that respond appropriately to new data. Such models are a rich new language for commanding informed robotic decision making in physically grounded terms. We apply these models to quantify the information content of different rover traverses providing profiling spectroscopy of Cuprite Hills, Nevada. We also develop two methods of representing spatial correlations using human-defined maps and remote sensing data. Model unit classifications are broadly consistent with prior maps of the site's alteration mineralogy, indicating that the model has successfully represented critical spatial and mineralogical relationships at Cuprite. Key Words: Autonomous science—Imaging spectroscopy—Alteration mineralogy—Field geology—Cuprite—AVIRIS-NG—Robotic exploration. Astrobiology 18, 934–954.

Astrobiology↗

USGS1969

Rheology of basalt in the melting range

Experimental data have been obtained for viscosities of tholeiite melts at temperatures from 1300 to 1120 °Cat 1 atm, using a concentric cylinder viscometer. The apparent viscosity increases more than two orders of magnitude between 1200 and 1120 °C (0–25 per cent crystallization) for shear rates of about 10 sec -1 and even more for lower shear rates. Non-Newtonian behaviour of ‘pseudo-plastic type’ becomes extremely pronounced at temperatures below about 1130 °C. At these temperatures, differences of less than 5 °C can produce changes in apparent viscosity amounting to orders of magnitude. These observations have led to the conclusion that the heat of deformation must itself influence rheological behaviour in the melting range. An equation for thermal energy balances and their rates of change is constructed and placed in a non-dimensional form that has been given published solutions by I. J. Gruntfest (1963) relating the shear stress, rate of strain, and temperature through the temperature dependence of viscosity. The results show that in an adiabatic system the heating rate increases with time so that the temperature eventually runs out of bounds, a process termed ‘thermal feedback’ by Gruntfest. A hypothesis of shear melting is derived on the basis of a simplified viscosity function extrapolated to the solidus temperature. The hypothesis is applied to magma generation in the earth on the basis of dimensional arguments. It is also suggested that thermal instabilities give rise to a sort of viscous failure responsible for deep-focus earthquakes, and that the two phenomena have the same cause relating ultimately to a gravitational energy source.

Journal of Petrology↗

USGS2002

Leisingera methylohalidivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., a marine methylotroph that grows on methyl bromide

A marine methylotroph, designated strain MB2T, was isolated for its ability to grow on methyl bromide as a sole carbon and energy source. Methyl chloride and methyl iodide also supported growth, as did methionine and glycine betaine. A limited amount of growth was observed with dimethyl sulfide. Growth was also noted with unidentified components of the complex media marine broth 2216, yeast extract and Casamino acids. No growth was observed on methylated amines, methanol, formate, acetate, glucose or a variety of other substrates. Growth on methyl bromide and methyl iodide resulted in their oxidation to CO2 with stoichiometric release of bromide and iodide, respectively. Strain MB2T exhibited growth optima at NaCl and Mg2+ concentrations similar to that of seawater. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence placed this strain in the alpha-Proteobacteria in proximity to the genera Ruegeria and Roseobacter. It is proposed that strain MB2T (= ATCC BAA-92T = DSM 14336T) be designated Leisingera methylohalidivorans gen. nov., sp. nov..

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutiona↗

USGS2016

Deferrisoma paleochoriense sp. nov., a thermophilic, iron(III)-reducing bacterium from a shallow-water hydrothermal vent in the Mediterranean Sea

A novel thermophilic, anaerobic, mixotrophic bacterium, designated strain MAG-PB1 T , was isolated from a shallow-water hydrothermal vent system in Palaeochori Bay off the coast of the island of Milos, Greece. The cells were Gram-negative, rugose, short rods, approximately 1.0 μm long and 0.5 μm wide. Strain MAG-PB1 T grew at 30–70 °C (optimum 60 °C), 0–50 g NaCl l − 1 (optimum 15–20 g l − 1 ) and pH 5.5–8.0 (optimum pH 6.0). Generation time under optimal conditions was 2.5 h. Optimal growth occurred under chemolithoautotrophic conditions with H 2 as the energy source and CO 2 as the carbon source. Fe(III), Mn(IV), arsenate and selenate were used as electron acceptors. Peptone, tryptone, Casamino acids, sucrose, yeast extract, d -fructose, α- d -glucose and ( − )- d -arabinose also served as electron donors. No growth occurred in the presence of lactate or formate. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 66.7 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that this organism is closely related to Deferrisoma camini , the first species of a recently described genus in the Deltaproteobacteria . Based on the 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis and on physiological, biochemical and structural characteristics, the strain was found to represent a novel species, for which the name Deferrisoma palaeochoriense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MAG-PB1 T ( = JCM 30394 T  = DSM 29363 T ).

Mediterranean Sea, Milos Island, Paleochori Bay↗

USGS2009

Coal and peat in the sub-Saharan region of Africa: alternative energy options?

Increased energy demand as a result of growth in population, trends to sedentation and urbanization, and the desire for improvement in living standards, coupled with apparent climatic changes, are reducing fuelwood availability and contributing to deforestation and desertification in the sub‐Saharan countries. In 14 of those countries, the transport, industrial, and electric power generation sectors are all dependent on imported petroleum products for their energy needs with resultant balance of trade and debt‐servicing problems. Coal and peat are essentially unused and in some cases unknown in sub‐Saharan Africa. However, they might comprise valuable alternative energy sources in some or all of the developing nations of the region. The eleven countries considered in this appraisal reportedly contain coal and peat. On the basis of regional geology, another five countries might also contain coal‐bearing rocks. If the resource potential is adequate, coal and peat might be utilized in a variety of ways including substituting for fuelwood, generating electricity, supplying process heat for local industry and increasing agricultural productivity.

Natural Resources Forum↗

USGS2024

Evaluation of the lithium resource in the Smackover Formation brines of southern Arkansas using machine learning

Global demand for lithium, the primary component of lithium-ion batteries, greatly exceeds known supplies, and this imbalance is expected to increase as the world transitions away from fossil fuel energy sources. High concentrations of lithium in brines have been observed in the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas (>400 milligrams per liter). We used published and newly collected brine lithium concentration data to train a random forest machine-learning model using geologic, geochemical, and temperature explanatory variables and create a map of predicted lithium concentrations in Smackover Formation brines across southern Arkansas. Using these predicted lithium maps with reservoir parameters and geologic information, we calculated that there are 5.1 to 19 million tons of lithium in Smackover Formation brines in southern Arkansas, which represents 35 to 136% of the current US lithium resource estimate. Based on these calculations, in 2022, 5000 tons of dissolved lithium were brought to the surface within brines as waste streams of the oil, gas, and bromine industries.

Arkansas↗

USGS2014

Sharp increase in central Oklahoma seismicity 2009-2014 induced by massive wastewater injection

Unconventional oil and gas production provides a rapidly growing energy source; however high-producing states in the United States, such as Oklahoma, face sharply rising numbers of earthquakes. Subsurface pressure data required to unequivocally link earthquakes to injection are rarely accessible. Here we use seismicity and hydrogeological models to show that distant fluid migration from high-rate disposal wells in Oklahoma is likely responsible for the largest swarm. Earthquake hypocenters occur within disposal formations and upper-basement, between 2-5 km depth. The modeled fluid pressure perturbation propagates throughout the same depth range and tracks earthquakes to distances of 35 km, with a triggering threshold of ~0.07 MPa. Although thousands of disposal wells may operate aseismically, four of the highest-rate wells likely induced 20% of 2008-2013 central US seismicity.

Oklahoma↗

USGS1998

Evidence against hydrogen-based microbial ecosystems in basalt aquifers

It has been proposed that hydrogen produced from basalt-ground-water interactions may serve as an energy source that supports the existence of microorganisms in the deep subsurface on Earth and possibly on other planets. However, experiments demonstrated that hydrogen is not produced from basalt at an environmentally relevant, alkaline pH. Small amounts of hydrogen were produced at a lower pH in laboratory incubations, but even this hydrogen production was transitory. Furthermore, geochemical considerations suggest that previously reported rates of hydrogen production cannot be sustained over geologically significant time frames. These findings indicate that hydrogen production from basalt-ground-water interactions may not support microbial metabolism in the subsurface.

Idaho↗

USGS2001

Identification of methyl halide-utilizing genes in strain IMB-1, a methyl bromide-utilizing bacterium suggests a high degree of conservation of methyl halide-specific genes in gram-negative bacteria

Strain IMB-1, an aerobic methylotrophic member of the alpha subgroup of the Proteobacteria, can grow with methyl bromide as a sole carbon and energy source. A single cmu gene cluster was identified in IMB-1 that contained six open reading frames: cmuC, cmuA, orf146, paaE, hutI, and partial metF. CmuA from IMB-1 has high sequence homology to the methyltransferase CmuA from Methylobacterium chloromethanicum and Hyphomicrobium chloromethanicum and contains a C-terminal corrinoid-binding motif and an N-terminal methyl-transferase motif. However, cmuB, identified in M. chloromethanicum and H. chloromethanicum, was not detected in IMB-1.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology↗

USGS2022

Complete genome sequence of Rhodococcus opacus strain MoAcy1 (DSM 44186), an aerobic acetylenotroph isolated from soil

We report the genome of Rhodococcus opacus strain MoAcy1 ( DSM 44186 ), an aerobic soil isolate capable of using acetylene as its primary carbon and energy source (acetylenotrophy). The genome is composed of a single circular chromosome of ∼8 Mbp and two closed plasmids, with a G+C content of 67.3%.

Microbiology Resource Announcements↗

USGS2003

Interacting effects of water temperature and swimming activity on body composition and mortality of fasted juvenile rainbow trout

Abstract: We assessed changes in proximate body composition, wet mass, and the occurrence of mortality among sedentary and actively swimming (15 cm/s) juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (120-142 mm total length) that were held at 4.0, 7.5, or 15.0 ??C and fasted for 140 days. Warmer water temperatures and swimming activity accentuated declines in lipid mass, but they did not similarly affect lean mass and wet mass. Swimming fish conserved lean mass independent of water temperature. Because lean mass exceeded lipid mass, wet mass was not affected substantially by decreases in lipid mass. Consequently, wet mass did not accurately reflect the effects that water temperature and swimming activity had on mortality of fasted rainbow trout. Rather, lipid mass was more accurate in predicting death from starvation. Juvenile rainbow trout survived long periods without food, and fish that died of starvation appeared to have similar body composition. It appears that the ability of fish to endure periods without food depends on the degree to which lipid mass and lean mass can be utilized as energy sources.

Canadian Journal of Zoology↗

USGS2015

Geomicrobial interactions with arsenic and antimony

Although arsenic and antimony are generally toxic to life, some microorganisms exist that can metabolize certain forms of these elements. Some can use arsenite or stibnite as potential or sole energy sources, whereas others can use aresenate and antimonite (as was discovered only recently) as terminal electron acceptors. Still other microbes can metabolize arsenic and antimony compounds to detoxify them. These reactions are important from a geomicrobial standpoint because they indicate that a number of microbes contribute to arsenic and antimony mobilization or immobilization in the environment and play a role in arsenic and antimony cycles. Recent reviews include five on prokaryotes and arsenic metabolism, a review with an arsenic perspective on biomining, and a series on environmental antimony, including one about antimony and its interaction with microbiota.

Book chapter↗

USGS1985

Regional magnetotelluric surveys in hydrocarbon exploration, Parana Basin, Brazil

The magnetotelluric geophysical method has been used effectively as a hydrocarbon exploration tool in the intracratonic Parana basin of South America. The Parana basin has an area of about 1,200,000 km 2 (463,000 mi 2 ), extending over portions of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. The Paleozoic marine sedimentary rocks in the Parana basin are covered by the world's most extensive flood basalt complex, making geophysical exploration extremely difficult, although modern seismic techniques recently applied are achieving good results in some areas. The 1-2 km (3,300-6,600 ft) thick surface basalts and buried diabase sills pose no problem for the magnetotelluric method because the natural electromagnetic fields used as the energy source pass easily through the basalt. Data for the regional study were taken on six profiles with soundings spaced 8 to 15 km (5 to 9 mi) apart. The magnetotelluric sounding data outline a linear uplift known as the Ponta Grossa arch. This major structural feature cuts across the northeast-trending intracratonic basin almost perpendicularly, and is injected with numerous diabase dikes. Although its character is reasonably well known in the shallow, eastern parts of the basin, it is poorly delineated in the deeper parts of the basin where promising natural gas zones have been tested in several wells. In the survey area, MT interpretations show that basalts have aggregate thickness of as much as 2 km (6,600 ft), and basement may be as much as 6 km (20,000 ft) below the surface. Over most of the basin, the basalts are covered by Upper Cretaceous to Holocene continental sediments of a few hundred meters thickness and are underlain by 2 to 4 km (6,600 to 13,100 ft) thick Paleozoic sediments with possible hydrocarbon potential. The Ponta Grossa arch is interpreted to be the failed arm of a triple rift system that formed during the separation of the African and South American continents. Shales of the Devonian Ponta Grossa Formation are important Parana basin source rocks for hydrocarbons, as are several Permian units. Significant electrical contrasts occur between the Permian sediments and older units, so that magnetotelluric measurements can give an indication of the regional thickness of the Permian and younger sediments to aid in interpreting hydrocarbon migration patterns and possible trap areas.

Parana Basin↗