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MICROBIAL ECOLOGY OF POLLUTION ABATEMENT
Citation:
Markwiese, James. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY OF POLLUTION ABATEMENT. Society for Freshwater Science, Sacramento, CA, May 21 - 26, 2016.
Impact/Purpose:
This presentation is an homage to a past advisor’s legacy vis-à-vis his influence on my research, namely the microbial ecology of pollution abatement, from hazardous chemicals to greenhouse gasses and global warming.
Description:
My career started with Cliff Dahm at the University of New Mexico. The western United States had been experiencing a new “gold rush” using cyanide to mine previously unextractable, low-grade ore and we studied the potential to stimulate native cyanide-degrading microorganisms based on basic oceanographic principles, e.g., the Redfield ratio. Cliff’s concurrent hyporheic research helped me appreciate anaerobic microbiology and how alternate electron acceptors influenced the fate and transport chemical pollutants. This led to work on several high-profile risk assessments including heavy-metal contaminated groundwater upwelling into the Columbia River and the BP Gulf Spill. Hazardous wastes are, of course, a serious concern but the influence of most chemicals on the planet’s wellbeing are pale in comparison to the threat posed by climbing carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. Considering this, I keep coming back to an assignment in Cliff’s advanced limnology class on "High-Nutrient, Low Chlorophyll" oceans and the geoengineering potential for sequestering atmospheric CO2. Although planetary geoengineering has serious concerns, we have to think about every possible alternative to continued global warming: Cliff, thank you for helping us think big.