Tracing biogeochemical and microbial variability over a complete oil sand mining and recultivation process

Noah, Mareike; Lappé, Michael; Schneider, Bernd Uwe; Vieth‐Hillebrand, Andrea; Wilkes, Heinz; Kallmeyer, Jens

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.08.020

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The leached samples were investigated for the following ions: chloride, nitrate, sulfate, acetate, and formate. The specifics of the method to detect organic acids have been described by Vieth et al (2008) ; for inorganic acids, see Noah et al (2014) . Analytical settings are shown in the Supplementary Table S1 .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desiccation- and Saline-Tolerant Bacteria and Archaea in Kalahari Pan Sediments

et al. 2018

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More than 41% of the Earth’s land area is covered by permanent or seasonally arid dryland ecosystems. Global development and human activity have led to an increase in aridity, resulting in ecosystem degradation and desertification around the world. The objective of the present work was to investigate and compare the microbial community structure and geochemical characteristics of two geographically distinct saline pan sediments in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa. Our data suggest that these microbial communities have been shaped by geochemical drivers, including water content, salinity, and the supply of organic matter. Using Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing, this study provides new insights into the diversity of bacteria and archaea in semi-arid, saline, and low-carbon environments. Many of the observed taxa are halophilic and adapted to water-limiting conditions. The analysis reveals a high relative abundance of halophilic archaea (primarily Halobacteria), and the bacterial diversity is marked by an abundance of Gemmatimonadetes and spore-forming Firmicutes. In the deeper, anoxic layers, candidate division MSBL1, and acetogenic bacteria (Acetothermia) are abundant. Together, the taxonomic information and geochemical data suggest that acetogenesis could be a prevalent form of metabolism in the deep layers of a saline pan.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Desiccation- and Saline-Tolerant Bacteria and Archaea in Kalahari Pan Sediments

et al. 2018

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“…The different sample types represent single steps of oil sand processing, tailings treatment, and recultivation. A detailed sample description as well as GC-MS data can be found in the 2014 article by Noah et al 13 The sample set comprises oil sand (OS) samples from an open-pit mine, an unprocessed MFT (uMFT) sample from a tailings pond, processed MFTs (pMFT) mixed with flocculants from drying cells, uncovered tailings sand (uTS) samples from a stockpile, and TS samples covered with PMM of an average thickness of 35 cm as part of land reclamation. Figure S1 depicts the described process chain.…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In each spectrum, signals with a signal-to-noise ratio ≥ 6 were included into the further data assessment. Formula assignment was done using the elemental isotopes 1 H, 12 C, 13 C, 14 N, 16 O, and 32 S, with the upper thresholds N ≤ 2, O ≤ 10, and S ≤ 2; C and H were unlimited. If no chemical formula within the allowed mass error of 1 ppm was found, the peak was not included into the mass/formula list.…”

Section: Table 1 Overview Of the Analyzed Sample Set Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous study, we presented a detailed assessment of biogeochemical and microbiological variability over a complete oil sand mining and recultivation process. 13 Here we characterize the maltene fractions isolated from 21 samples including oil sands, MFTs, and tailings sands of different ages and degrees of reclamation by negative-ion-mode ESI FT-ICR-MS. A major goal of this study is to identify signatures in the elemental composition patterns that are indicative of biogeochemical processes occurring along the process chain and/or enable a source assignment of certain compound classes. We show that ultra-high-resolution mass spectrometry is a sensitive tool to detect oil-sand-derived organic material, even at high dilution, on reclamation sites.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Detection of Residual Oil-Sand-Derived Organic Material in Developing Soils of Reclamation Sites by Ultra-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Noah

Poetz

Vieth‐Hillebrand

et al. 2015

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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The reconstruction of disturbed landscapes back to working ecosystems is an issue of increasing importance for the oil sand areas in Alberta, Canada. In this context, the fate of oil-sand-derived organic material in the tailings sands used for reclamation is of utmost environmental importance. Here we use electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry of maltene fractions to identify compositional variations over a complete oil sand mining and recultivation process chain. On the basis of bulk compound class distributions and percentages of unique elemental compositions, we identify specific compositional features that are related to the different steps of the process chain. The double bond equivalent and carbon number distributions of the N1 and S1O2 classes are almost invariant along the process chain, despite a significant decrease in overall abundance. We thus suggest that these oil-sand-derived components can be used as sensitive tracers of residual bitumen, even in soils from relatively old reclamation sites. The patterns of the O2, O3, and O4 classes may be applied to assess process-chain-related changes in organic matter composition, including the formation of plant-derived soil organic matter on the reclamation sites. The N1O2 species appear to be related to unidentified processes in the tailings ponds but do not represent products of aerobic biodegradation of pyrrolic nitrogen compounds.

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“…The leached samples were investigated for chloride (Cl − ), nitrate (NO 3 − ), sulfate (SO 4 2− ), and small organic acid concentrations. Details on the method to detect anions have been described elsewhere (e.g., Noah et al, ; Vieth et al, ). Analytical settings are shown in supporting information Table S1.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Community Responses to Modern Environmental and Past Climatic Conditions in Omongwa Pan, Western Kalahari: A Paired 16S rRNA Gene Profiling and Lipid Biomarker Approach

et al. 2018

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Due to a lack of well‐preserved terrestrial climate archives, paleoclimate studies are sparse in southwestern Africa. Because there are no perennial lacustrine systems in this region, this study relies on a saline pan as an archive for climate information in the western Kalahari (Namibia). Molecular biological and biogeochemical analyses were combined to examine the response of indigenous microbial communities to modern and past climate‐induced environmental conditions. The 16S rRNA gene high‐throughput sequencing was applied to sediment samples from Omongwa pan to characterize the modern microbial diversity. Highest diversity of microorganisms, dominated by the extreme halophilic archaeon Halobacteria and by the bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadetes, was detected in the near‐surface sediments of Omongwa pan. In deeper sections abundance and diversity significantly decreases and Bacillus, known to form spores, become dominant. Lipid biomarkers for living and past microbial life were analyzed to track the influence of climate variation on the abundance of microbial communities from the Last Glacial Maximum to Holocene time. Since water is an inevitable requirement for microbial life, in this dry region the abundance of past microbial biomarkers was evaluated to conclude on periods of increased paleoprecipitation in the past. The data point to a period of increased humidity in the western Kalahari during the Last Glacial to Holocene transition indicating a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone during this period. Comparison with results from a southwestern Kalahari pan suggests complex displacements of the regional atmospheric systems since the Last Glacial Maximum.

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Tracing biogeochemical and microbial variability over a complete oil sand mining and recultivation process

Cited by 15 publications

References 46 publications

Desiccation- and Saline-Tolerant Bacteria and Archaea in Kalahari Pan Sediments

Desiccation- and Saline-Tolerant Bacteria and Archaea in Kalahari Pan Sediments

Detection of Residual Oil-Sand-Derived Organic Material in Developing Soils of Reclamation Sites by Ultra-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Microbial Community Responses to Modern Environmental and Past Climatic Conditions in Omongwa Pan, Western Kalahari: A Paired 16S rRNA Gene Profiling and Lipid Biomarker Approach

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