Water Table Dynamics and Biogeochemical Cycling in a Shallow, Variably-Saturated Floodplain

Yabusaki, Steven B.; Wilkins, Michael J.; Fang, Yilin; Williams, Kenneth H.; Arora, Bhavna; Bargar, John; Beller, Harry R.; Bouskill, Nicholas J.; Brodie, Eoin L.; Christensen, John N.; Conrad, Mark E.; Danczak, Robert E.; King, Eric; Soltanian, Mohamad R.; Spycher, Nicolas F.; Steefel, Carl I.; Tokunaga, Tetsu K.; Versteeg, Roelof; Waichler, Scott R.; Wainwright, Haruko M.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b04873

Title: Water Table Dynamics and Biogeochemical Cycling in a Shallow, Variably-Saturated Floodplain

Journal Article · Mon Feb 20 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Environmental Science and Technology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b04873· OSTI ID:1345843

^[1]; Wilkins, Michael J. ^[2]; Fang, Yilin ^[1]; Williams, Kenneth H. ^[3]; Arora, Bhavna ^[3]; Bargar, John ^[4]; Beller, Harry R. ^[3]; Bouskill, Nicholas J. ^[3]; Brodie, Eoin L. ^[3]; Christensen, John N. ^[3]; Conrad, Mark E. ^[3]; Danczak, Robert E. ^[2]; King, Eric ^[3]; Soltanian, Mohamad R. ^[2]; Spycher, Nicolas F. ^[3]; Steefel, Carl I. ^[3];

^[3]; Versteeg, Roelof ^[5]; Waichler, Scott R. ^[1]; Wainwright, Haruko M. ^[3]

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99354, United States
The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, United States
Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States
Subsurface Insights, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, United States

Three-dimensional variably saturated flow and multicomponent biogeochemical reactive transport modeling, based on published and newly generated data, is used to better understand the interplay of hydrology, geochemistry, and biology controlling the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, sulfur, and uranium in a shallow floodplain. In this system, aerobic respiration generally maintains anoxic groundwater below an oxic vadose zone until seasonal snowmelt-driven water table peaking transports dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate from the vadose zone into the alluvial aquifer. The response to this perturbation is localized due to distinct physico-biogeochemical environments and relatively long time scales for transport through the floodplain aquifer and vadose zone. Naturally reduced zones (NRZs) containing sediments higher in organic matter, iron sulfides, and non-crystalline U(IV) rapidly consume DO and nitrate to maintain anoxic conditions, yielding Fe(II) from FeS oxidative dissolution, nitrite from denitrification, and U(VI) from nitrite-promoted U(IV) oxidation. Redox cycling is a key factor for sustaining the observed aquifer behaviors despite continuous oxygen influx and the annual hydrologically induced oxidation event. Furthermore, depth-dependent activity of fermenters, aerobes, nitrate reducers, sulfate reducers, and chemolithoautotrophs (e.g., oxidizing Fe(II), S compounds, and ammonium) is linked to the presence of DO, which has higher concentrations near the water table.

View Journal Article

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830; AC02-05CH11231; AC02-76SF00515

OSTI ID:: 1345843

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1351621; OSTI ID: 1352546; OSTI ID: 1458487; OSTI ID: 1770164

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA-121243

Journal Information:: Environmental Science and Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology Vol. 51 Journal Issue: 6; ISSN 0013-936X

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 75 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (42)

Influence of the hydrologic regime on resource availability in a semi-arid stream-riparian corridor Harms, Tamara K.; Grimm, Nancy B. Ecohydrology, Vol. 3, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.119	journal	August 2010
Large-scale controls on potential respiration and denitrification in riverine floodplains Welti, Nina; Bondar-Kunze, Elisabeth; Singer, Gabriel Ecological Engineering, Vol. 42 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.02.005	journal	May 2012
Multicomponent reactive transport modeling of uranium bioremediation field experiments Fang, Yilin; Yabusaki, Steven B.; Morrison, Stan J. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 73, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2009.07.019	journal	October 2009
Stimulating the In Situ Activity of Geobacter Species To Remove Uranium from the Groundwater of a Uranium-Contaminated Aquifer Anderson, R. T.; Vrionis, H. A.; Ortiz-Bernad, I. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 69, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.69.10.5884-5891.2003	journal	October 2003
Bicarbonate impact on U(VI) bioreduction in a shallow alluvial aquifer Long, Philip E.; Williams, Kenneth H.; Davis, James A. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 150 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2014.11.013	journal	February 2015
Kinetic Desorption and Sorption of U(VI) during Reactive Transport in a Contaminated Hanford Sediment Qafoku, Nikolla P.; Zachara, John M.; Liu, Chongxuan Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 39, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1021/es048462q	journal	May 2005
Microbiological and Geochemical Heterogeneity in an In Situ Uranium Bioremediation Field Site Vrionis, H. A.; Anderson, R. T.; Ortiz-Bernad, I. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 71, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.10.6308-6318.2005	journal	October 2005
Acetate Availability and its Influence on Sustainable Bioremediation of Uranium-Contaminated Groundwater Williams, Kenneth H.; Long, Philip E.; Davis, James A. Geomicrobiology Journal, Vol. 28, Issue 5-6 https://doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2010.520074	journal	June 2011
Unusual biology across a group comprising more than 15% of domain Bacteria Brown, Christopher T.; Hug, Laura A.; Thomas, Brian C. Nature, Vol. 523, Issue 7559 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14486	journal	June 2015
Physico-Chemical Heterogeneity of Organic-Rich Sediments in the Rifle Aquifer, CO: Impact on Uranium Biogeochemistry Janot, Noémie; Lezama Pacheco, Juan S.; Pham, Don Q. Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 50, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03208	journal	December 2015
Field evidence of selenium bioreduction in a uranium-contaminated aquifer: Field evidence of selenium bioreduction Williams, Kenneth H.; Wilkins, Michael J.; N'Guessan, A. Lucie Environmental Microbiology Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12032	journal	February 2013
Metabolic interdependencies between phylogenetically novel fermenters and respiratory organisms in an unconfined aquifer Wrighton, Kelly C.; Castelle, Cindy J.; Wilkins, Michael J. The ISME Journal, Vol. 8, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2013.249	journal	March 2014
Identifying geochemical hot moments and their controls on a contaminated river floodplain system using wavelet and entropy approaches Arora, Bhavna; Dwivedi, Dipankar; Hubbard, Susan S. Environmental Modelling & Software, Vol. 85 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.08.005	journal	November 2016
Influence of hydrological, biogeochemical and temperature transients on subsurface carbon fluxes in a flood plain environment Arora, Bhavna; Spycher, Nicolas F.; Steefel, Carl I. Biogeochemistry, Vol. 127, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-016-0186-8	journal	February 2016
Metatranscriptomic evidence of pervasive and diverse chemolithoautotrophy relevant to C, S, N and Fe cycling in a shallow alluvial aquifer Jewell, Talia N. M.; Karaoz, Ulas; Brodie, Eoin L. The ISME Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2016.25	journal	March 2016
Identification of c-type cytochromes involved in anaerobic, bacterial U(IV) oxidation Beller, Harry R.; Legler, Tina C.; Bourguet, Feliza Biodegradation, Vol. 20, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-008-9198-y	journal	May 2008
Persistence of uranium groundwater plumes: Contrasting mechanisms at two DOE sites in the groundwater–river interaction zone Zachara, John M.; Long, Philip E.; Bargar, John Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 147 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2013.02.001	journal	April 2013
Critical biogeochemical functions in the subsurface are associated with bacteria from new phyla and little studied lineages: N- and C-cycling organisms in the subsurface Hug, Laura A.; Thomas, Brian C.; Sharon, Itai Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 18, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12930	journal	July 2015
Hierarchical Bayesian method for mapping biogeochemical hot spots using induced polarization imaging Wainwright, Haruko M.; Flores Orozco, Adrian; Bücker, Matthias Water Resources Research, Vol. 52, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017763	journal	January 2016
A uranium bioremediation reactive transport benchmark Yabusaki, Steven B.; Şengör, Sevinç S.; Fang, Yilin Computational Geosciences, Vol. 19, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-015-9474-y	journal	June 2015
Biogenic U(IV) oxidation by dissolved oxygen and nitrate in sediment after prolonged U(VI)/Fe(III)/SO42− reduction Moon, H. S.; Komlos, J.; Jaffé, P. R. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 105, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2008.10.014	journal	February 2009
Scale-dependent desorption of uranium from contaminated subsurface sediments: SCALE-DEPENDENT DESORPTION OF URANIUM Liu, Chongxuan; Zachara, John M.; Qafoku, Nikolla P. Water Resources Research, Vol. 44, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006478	journal	August 2008
Geochemical, mineralogical and microbiological characteristics of sediment from a naturally reduced zone in a uranium-contaminated aquifer Campbell, K. M.; Kukkadapu, R. K.; Qafoku, N. P. Applied Geochemistry, Vol. 27, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2012.04.013	journal	August 2012
Uranium Bioreduction Rates across Scales: Biogeochemical Hot Moments and Hot Spots during a Biostimulation Experiment at Rifle, Colorado Bao, Chen; Wu, Hongfei; Li, Li Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1021/es501060d	journal	August 2014
Trace element release patterns from three floodplain soils under simulated oxidized–reduced cycles Schulz-Zunkel, Christiane; Rinklebe, Jörg; Bork, Hans-Rudolf Ecological Engineering, Vol. 83 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2015.05.028	journal	October 2015
Anaerobic, Nitrate-Dependent Oxidation of U(IV) Oxide Minerals by the Chemolithoautotrophic Bacterium Thiobacillus denitrificans Beller, Harry R. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 71, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.71.4.2170-2174.2005	journal	April 2005
Variably saturated flow and multicomponent biogeochemical reactive transport modeling of a uranium bioremediation field experiment Yabusaki, Steven B.; Fang, Yilin; Williams, Kenneth H. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 126, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2011.09.002	journal	November 2011
Building conceptual models of field-scale uranium reactive transport in a dynamic vadose zone-aquifer-river system: CONCEPTUAL MODELS OF FIELD-SCALE URANIUM Yabusaki, Steven B.; Fang, Yilin; Waichler, Scott R. Water Resources Research, Vol. 44, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1029/2007WR006617	journal	December 2008
Hydrologic linkages drive spatial structuring of bacterial assemblages and functioning in alpine floodplains Freimann, Remo; Bürgmann, Helmut; Findlay, Stuart E. G. Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01221	journal	November 2015
Deep Vadose Zone Respiration Contributions to Carbon Dioxide Fluxes from a Semiarid Floodplain Tokunaga, Tetsu K.; Kim, Yongman; Conrad, Mark E. Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 15, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2016.02.0014	journal	January 2016
Measurement and Modeling of U(IV) Adsorption to Metal Oxide Minerals Wang, Zimeng; Ulrich, Kai-Uwe; Pan, Chao Environmental Science & Technology Letters, Vol. 2, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.5b00156	journal	July 2015
Aquifer environment selects for microbial species cohorts in sediment and groundwater Hug, Laura A.; Thomas, Brian C.; Brown, Christopher T. The ISME Journal, Vol. 9, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2015.2	journal	February 2015
Uranium(IV) adsorption by natural organic matter in anoxic sediments Bone, Sharon E.; Dynes, James J.; Cliff, John Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1611918114	journal	January 2017
Chemical reactions of uranium in ground water at a mill tailings site Abdelouas, A.; Lutze, W.; Nuttall, E. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology, Vol. 34, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7722(98)00097-7	journal	November 1998
The reduced genomes of Parcubacteria (OD1) contain signatures of a symbiotic lifestyle Nelson, William C.; Stegen, James C. Frontiers in Microbiology, Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00713	journal	July 2015
Long-Term in Situ Oxidation of Biogenic Uraninite in an Alluvial Aquifer: Impact of Dissolved Oxygen and Calcium Lezama-Pacheco, Juan S.; Cerrato, José M.; Veeramani, Harish Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 49, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b00949	journal	June 2015
Snowmelt Induced Hydrologic Perturbations Drive Dynamic Microbiological and Geochemical Behaviors across a Shallow Riparian Aquifer Danczak, Robert E.; Yabusaki, Steven B.; Williams, Kenneth H. Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol. 4 https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2016.00057	journal	May 2016
Uranium redox transition pathways in acetate-amended sediments Bargar, J. R.; Williams, K. H.; Campbell, K. M. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 110, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1219198110	journal	March 2013
Degradation of natural organic matter: A thermodynamic analysis LaRowe, Douglas E.; Van Cappellen, Philippe Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 75, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2011.01.020	journal	April 2011
Biogeochemical Hot Spots and Hot Moments at the Interface of Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems McClain, Michael E.; Boyer, Elizabeth W.; Dent, C. Lisa Ecosystems, Vol. 6, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0161-9	journal	June 2003
Hot Spots and Hot Moments of Dissolved Organic Carbon Export and Soil Organic Carbon Storage in the Shale Hills Catchment Andrews, Danielle M.; Lin, Henry; Zhu, Qing Vadose Zone Journal, Vol. 10, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.2136/vzj2010.0149	journal	January 2011
Genomic Expansion of Domain Archaea Highlights Roles for Organisms from New Phyla in Anaerobic Carbon Cycling Castelle, Cindy J.; Wrighton, Kelly C.; Thomas, Brian C. Current Biology, Vol. 25, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.01.014	journal	March 2015

Similar Records

Understanding controls on redox processes in floodplain sediments of the Upper Colorado River Basin

Journal Article · Fri Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Science of the Total Environment · OSTI ID:1345843

Noël, Vincent; Boye, Kristin; Kukkadapu, Ravi K.; +7 more

Assessing the Role of Iron Sulfides in the Long Term Sequestration of Uranium by Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria

Technical Report · Tue Dec 31 00:00:00 EST 2013 · OSTI ID:1345843

Hayes, Kim F.; Bi, Yuqiang; Carpenter, Julian; +5 more

Hot Spots and Hot Moments of Nitrogen in a Riparian Corridor

Journal Article · Thu Dec 28 00:00:00 EST 2017 · Water Resources Research · OSTI ID:1345843

Dwivedi, Dipankar; Arora, Bhavna; Steefel, Carl I.; +2 more

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES

Title: Water Table Dynamics and Biogeochemical Cycling in a Shallow, Variably-Saturated Floodplain

Citation Formats

References (42)

Similar Records

Related Subjects