Effects of microbial processes on electrolytic and interfacial electrical properties of unconsolidated sediments

Aal, Gamal Z. Abdel; Atekwana, Estella A.; Slater, Lee; Atekwana, Eliot A.

doi:10.1029/2004gl020030

Cited by 118 publications

(89 citation statements)

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“…The study also show increase in electrolytic conductivity in the contaminated areas populated by microbes consistent with the laboratory and field studies of Atekwana et al (2004), where the increased fluid conductivity was shown to be strongly correlated with the dissolution minerals resulting from the bio-degradation of the contaminant mass. As a note, these investigations were carried out using LNAPL ( …”

Section: Effects Of Saturationsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…There are a number of important factors that might significantly impact on the amplitude and shape of polarization responses that are not being carefully investigated and that might explain the difference in laboratory and field samples. Some of these factors include (1) the effects of microbial degradation processes (Abdel Aal et al, 2004), ( presence of organic matter and consequent preferred adhesion of hydrophobic contaminants on organic substrates, (3) the effect of length of exposure (aging) solid-liquid interface to contamination and the consequent alterations due to complex b physicochemical interactions (for examples of these effects see, Vanhala, 1997; Man and Ming, 2000;Abdel Aal, 2004). While there are reported initial efforts to address some of these problems considerable concerted efforts are needed to systematically investigate polarization phenomena under near field conditions.…”

Section: Field Based Signaturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Chelidze et al 1999a,b;), but we consider this to be insignificant compared to those of membrane polarization at the frequencies usually considered in IP (i.e. less than 100Hz).In contaminated zones, there is mounting evidence that microbes bio-degrading the contaminant form as bio-films on mineral surfaces and can either (1) directly contribute to the membrane effect because of their effective large surface areas or (2) because of the complex redox reactions accompanying biodegradation, contribute to the electrochemical alterations of the mineral surface and pore fluids, therefore producing an enhanced IP effect (Abdel Aal et al, 2004).Atekwana and her colleagues showed by laboratory and field experimentation that the electrochemical alterations due to biodegrading hydrocarbon contamination increased pore fluid salinity (i.e. increased mineral dissolution), and thereby in all cases caused an increase in the effective conductivity of the contaminated zone (Atekwana, et al, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this also depends on the length of time the clay has been exposed to the contaminants and the effect of microbial degradation activities. For example, Atekwana et al (2004) showed based on laboratory and field experimentation that due to the effect of microbial degradation, LNAPL hydrocarbon contamination results in an increase of the conductivity of the affected zones. This probably reflects the difficulty of interpreting contamination induced polarization data based on only the physical theories.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Induced Polarization with Electromagnetic Coupling: 3D Spectral Imaging Theory EMSP Project No. 73836

Morgan¹

2003

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, 3D induced polarization data from measurements to map subsurface contaminations of tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene, Eos Trans., AGU, 84 (46) , FeedbackNone. Appendices Copy of Publications16 AbstractThis paper reviews the current understanding of induced polarization (IP) source mechanisms gained from laboratory studies as related to the polarization response of contaminated rocks and soils. This review takes the perspective of a prospective user of such information for development of an interpretation methodology for field applications.The prospects for the application of time domain induced polarization (TDIP) or spectral domain induced polarization (SIP) to the problem of locating the subsurface distribution of contamination looked bright in the wake of published data claiming contamination produced measurable polarization response in rocks/soils. However, the literature today is dotted with conflicting reports of the polarization properties of contaminated rocks/soils. We have carried out a significant number of field experiments over contaminated soils and groundwater where inversion of the data successfully located the contaminated regions.However, this review finds that an interpretation methodology that can be applied to field results based on laboratory studies of IP source mechanisms is still lacking. In addition, there is a general difference in the levels of polarization response of contaminated rocks/soils recorded in the field and in laboratory studies raising fresh concerns about the validity of a contamination related polarization signature. A field example is shown that supports significant polarization signature recorded over a site contaminated with Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and Trichloroethylene (TCE). IntroductionInduced polarization phenomena in earth media -rocks, soils, and sedimentshas been known and studied both in the laboratory and field for over 80 years (Schlumberger, 1920; Bleil, 1953;Wait, 1959;Marshall and Madden, 1959). Early applications of induced polarization were to metallic mineral prospecting (i.e. see, Wait, 1959) and groundwater investigations (Vacquier, et al., 1957; Bodmer et al., 1968). Although there were references to logging applications in this period in the U.S.S.R. (Dakhnov et al., 1952(Dakhnov et al., , 1959, IP logging applications did not receive widespread serious considerations until later (Hoyer and Rumble, 1976; Snyder et al., 1977; Vinegar et al., 1 Earth Resources Laboratory, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. e-mail: sogade@erl.mit.edu 1985). Subsequent applications were to environmental problems (Angoran, 1974;Olhoeft and King, 1991;Morgan et al., 1999; Slater and Lesmes, 2002; Briggs et al., 2003 Briggs et al., , 2004.In recent times, laboratory studies (Olhoeft, 1986; suggested that chemical contamination introduced into rocks or soils produced measurable polarization response compared to clean samples. These observations, and similar ones published subsequently, led ma...

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Section: Effects Of Saturationsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Field Based Signaturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Induced Polarization with Electromagnetic Coupling: 3D Spectral Imaging Theory EMSP Project No. 73836

Morgan¹

2003

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“…The in-phase component of the complex conductivity describes the electromigration of the charge carriers in the material, whereas its quadrature component describes the polarization. The induced polarization method has been qualitatively shown to be sensitive to the presence of bacteria in porous media (Abdel Aal et al, 2004Ntarlagiannis et al, 2005a;Davis et al, 2006;Albrecht et al, 2011;Revil et al, 2012a;Zhang et al, 2012). The low-frequency polarization of bacteria in porous media has been recently modeled by Revil et al (2012a) with a special emphasis on Gram-positive bacteria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quadrature conductivity: A quantitative indicator of bacterial abundance in porous media

et al. 2014

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The abundance and growth stages of bacteria in subsurface porous media affect the concentrations and distributions of charged species within the solid-solution interfaces. Therefore, spectral induced polarization (SIP) measurements can be used to monitor changes in bacterial biomass and growth stage. Our goal was to gain a better understanding of the SIP response of bacteria present in a porous material. Bacterial cell surfaces possess an electric double layer and therefore become polarized in an electric field. We performed SIP measurements over the frequency range of 0.1-1 kHz on cell suspensions alone and cell suspensions mixed with sand at four pore water conductivities. We used Zymomonas mobilis at four different cell densities (including the background). The quadrature conductivity spectra exhibited two peaks, one around 0.05-0.10 Hz and the other around 1-10 Hz. Because SIP measurements on bacterial suspensions are typically made at frequencies greater than 1 Hz, these peaks have not been previously reported. In the bacterial suspensions in growth medium, the quadrature conductivity at peak I was linearly proportional to the density of the bacteria. For the case of the suspensions mixed with sands, we observed that peak II presented a smaller increase in the quadrature conductivity with the cell density. A comparison of the experiments with and without sand grains illustrated the effect of the porous medium on the overall quadrature conductivity response (decrease in the amplitude and shift of the peaks to the lower frequencies). Our results indicate that for a given porous medium, time-lapse SIP has potential for monitoring changes in bacterial abundance within porous media.

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P and S wave responses of bacterial biopolymer formation in unconsolidated porous media

et al. 2016

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This study investigated the P and S wave responses and permeability reduction during bacterial biopolymer formation in unconsolidated porous media. Column experiments with fine sands, where the model bacteria Leuconostoc mesenteroides were stimulated to produce insoluble biopolymer, were conducted while monitoring changes in permeability and P and S wave responses. The bacterial biopolymer reduced the permeability by more than 1 order of magnitude, occupying~10% pore volume after 38 days of growth. This substantial reduction was attributed to the bacterial biopolymer with complex internal structures accumulated at pore throats. S wave velocity (V S ) increased by more than~50% during biopolymer accumulation; this indicated that the bacterial biopolymer caused a certain level of stiffening effect on shear modulus of the unconsolidated sediment matrix at low confining stress conditions. Whereas replacing pore water by insoluble biopolymer was observed to cause minimal changes in P wave velocity (V P ) due to the low elastic moduli of insoluble biopolymer. The spectral ratio analyses revealed that the biopolymer formation caused a~50-80% increase in P wave attenuation (1/Q P ) at the both ultrasonic and subultrasonic frequency ranges, at hundreds of kHz and tens of kHz, respectively, and a~50-60% increase in S wave attenuation (1/Q S ) in the frequency band of several kHz. Our results reveal that in situ biopolymer formation and the resulting permeability reduction can be effectively monitored by using P and S wave attenuation in the ultrasonic and subultrasonic frequency ranges. This suggests that field monitoring using seismic logging techniques, including time-lapse dipole sonic logging, may be possible. Key Points:• This study investigated P and S wave responses of bacterial biopolymer clogging in porous media • Biopolymer accumulation causes the increases in P and S wave attenuation at tens to hundreds of kHz and several kHz, respectively • In situ bacterial biopolymer clogging can be effectively monitored by using variations of P and S wave attenuation and S wave velocityCorrespondence to:

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Effects of microbial processes on electrolytic and interfacial electrical properties of unconsolidated sediments

Cited by 118 publications

References 23 publications

Induced Polarization with Electromagnetic Coupling: 3D Spectral Imaging Theory EMSP Project No. 73836

Induced Polarization with Electromagnetic Coupling: 3D Spectral Imaging Theory EMSP Project No. 73836

Quadrature conductivity: A quantitative indicator of bacterial abundance in porous media

P and S wave responses of bacterial biopolymer formation in unconsolidated porous media

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