We investigated magnetic susceptibility (MS) variations in hydrocarbon contaminated sediments. Our objective was to determine if MS can be used as an intrinsic bioremediation indicator due to the activity of iron-reducing bacteria. A contaminated and an uncontaminated core were retrieved from a site contaminated with crude oil near Bemidji, Minnesota and subsampled for MS measurements. The contaminated core revealed enriched MS zones within the hydrocarbon smear zone, which is related to iron-reduction coupled to oxidation of hydrocarbon compounds and the vadose zone, which is coincident with a zone of methane depletion suggesting aerobic or anaerobic oxidation of methane is coupled to iron-reduction. The latter has significant implications for methane cycling. We conclude that MS can serve as a proxy for intrinsic bioremediation due to the activity of iron-reducing bacteria iron-reducing bacteria and for the application of geophysics to iron cycling studies.
- Anoxic Sediments,
- Bacteria,
- Biodegradation,
- Bioremediation,
- Biotechnology,
- Contamination,
- Crude Oil,
- Magnetic Susceptibility,
- Methane,
- Organic Compounds,
- Pollution,
- Anaerobic Oxidation Of Methanes,
- Bemidji, Minnesota,
- Contaminated Sediment,
- Hydrocarbon Compounds,
- Iron Reducing Bacteria,
- Iron Reduction,
- Methane Depletion,
- Vadose Zone,
- Iron,
- Contaminated Land,
- Geophysics,
- Iron-reducing Bacterium,
- Microbial Activity,
- Oxidation,
- Sediment Pollution,
- Bemidji,
- Minnesota,
- United States
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/estella-atekwana/59/