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USE OF AROMATIC ACIDS AND PHOSPHOLIPID-ESTER-LINKED FATTY ACIDS FOR DELINEATION OF PROCESSES AFFECTING AN AQUIFER CONTAMINATED WITH JP-4 FUEL
Citation:
Fang, J., M. J. Barcelona, AND C. West*. USE OF AROMATIC ACIDS AND PHOSPHOLIPID-ESTER-LINKED FATTY ACIDS FOR DELINEATION OF PROCESSES AFFECTING AN AQUIFER CONTAMINATED WITH JP-4 FUEL. AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 5:65-75, (1997).
Description:
A glacio-fluvial aquifer located at Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, has been contaminated with JP-4 fuel hydrocarbons released by the crash of a tanker aircraft in October of 1988. A comprehensive analysis of the inorganic and organic geochemical constituents and geomicrobiological markers has documented the occurrence of in situ biodegradation of hydrocarbons in the aquifer. Concentration profiles of aromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic acids, and phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids (PLFA) in aquifer solids suggest microbially mediated degradation of hydrocarbons and production of aromatic acid metobolites. Microbial community structure as indicated by the PLFA patterns shows an absence of polyunsaturated fatty acids characteristic of microeukaryotes and high proportions of C12-C20 fatty acids typical of bacteria. Contamination increased microbial biomass by one order of magnitude and shifted the community to a more anaerobic bacterial consortium.