Distribution of microbial biomass and the potential for anaerobic respiration in Hanford Site 300 Area subsurface sediment
Subsurface sediments were recovered from a 52 m deep borehole cored in the 300 Area of the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State to assess the potential for biogeochemical transformation of radionuclide contaminants. Microbial analyses were made on 17 sediment samples traversing multiple geological units: the oxic coarse-grained Hanford formation (9-17.4 m), the oxic fine-grained upper Ringold Formation (17.7-18.1 m), and the reduced Ringold Formation (18.3-52m). Microbial biomass (measured as phospholipid) ranged from 7-974 pmols per g in discrete samples, with the highest numbers found in the Hanford formation. On average, strata below 17.4 m had 13-fold less biomass than those from shallower strata. The nosZ gene encoding nitrous oxide reductase had an abundance of 5-17% relative to total 16S rRNA genes below 18.3 m and <5% above 18.1 m. Most nosZ sequences were affiliated with Ochrobactrum anthropi (97% sequence similarity) or had a nearest neighbor of Achromobacter xylosoxidans (90% similarity). Passive multilevel sampling of groundwater geochemistry demonstrated a redox gradient in the 1.5 m region between the Hanford-Ringold formation contact and the Ringold oxic-anoxic interface. Within this zone, copies of the dsrA gene and Geobacteraceae had the highest relative abundance. The majority of dsrA genes detected near the interface were related to Desulfotomaculum sp.. These analyses indicate that the region just below the contact between the Hanford and Ringold formations is a zone of active biogeochemical redox cycling.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1036406
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-78604; AEMIDF; KP1702030; TRN: US201206%%280
- Journal Information:
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 78, Issue 3; ISSN 0099-2240
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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