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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING METHANOGENESIS IN A SHALLOW ANOXIC AQUIFER: A FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDY
Citation:
Beeman, R. AND J. Suflita. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING METHANOGENESIS IN A SHALLOW ANOXIC AQUIFER: A FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDY. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-90/097 (NTIS PB90245515), 1990.
Description:
The environmental factors influencing methanogenesis in a shallow anoxic aquifer were probed in a combined field and laboratory study. Field data collected over a year revealed that "in situ" rates of methane production were depressed in winter and elevated in summer. Over the same period, ground water pH values ranged from 6.0 to 7.8 while temperatures varied from 7-22 degrees C. In situ" methanogenesis was severely inhibited at temperatures < 13 degrees C or by pH values < 7. he influence of these factors on microbial methane formation from both endogenous and exogenous substrates were tested in aquifer slurries adjusted to pH and incubated at temperatures ranging from 5-45 degrees C. emperature optima for methane production from endogenous substrates varied as a function of pH, but the pH optimum was 8 at all temperatures. ptimal conditions for acetoclastic methanogenesis were found at pH 8 and 35 degrees C. n analysis of variance revealed that pH, temperature, and a pH-temperature interaction are all significant variables influencing aquifer methanogenesis. n addition transient sulfate accumulations were also found to limit methane production in some areas. omparison of field and laboratory methane production patterns suggest that pH, temperature, and sulfate accumulations are important, but not the only environmental variables influencing the mineralization of organic matter in shallow aquifers.
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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS INFLUENCING METHANOGENESIS IN A SHALLOW ANOXIC AQUIFER: A FIELD AND LABORATORY STUDY