Abstract:
The growth of hydrocarbons exploration and use as a source of fuel and raw material has led to a significant increase in soil and groundwater contamination by these substances. Subsurface contamination can be studied with geophysical methods. Biogeophysics has been standing out in studies of microbial activity and its changes in the environment, using geophysical parameters such as magnetic properties of the contaminated environment. This analysis can provide important information about biogeochemical evolution of the environment. In this work, we sought to identify the biogeochemical processes that took place in hydrocarbons contaminated areas and to associate these processes with magnetic signatures, obtained from thermomagnetic curves, which provide information about mineralogy, and from hysteresis curves, which provide information about the grain size of magnetic minerals. We studied samples from a creosote oil contaminated site. The results
obtained from the thermomagnetic curves indicate a lower occurrence of mineral phase transformations where the contaminant was present, suggesting that they have a lower
content of organic matter than others, as well as lower concentrations of magnetite. The results of hysteresis curves indicate the occurrence of ultrafine particles at the site and the decrease of particle size with depth.The results suggest suppressed mineral transformations at the contaminated region, when compared with the background. One possible explanation for this observation might be related to the biocide nature of the creosote oil, which reduced the natural iron reducing bacteria abundance and consequently the microbial metabolism at the contaminated region.
Reference:
MORAES, Carolina Silveira de; USTRA, Andréa Teixeira; BARBOSA, Alexandre Muselli; IMBERNON, Rosely Aparecida Liguori. Assinaturas magnéticas de processos biogeoquímicos em uma área contaminada por hidrocarbonetos. In: MARTINS, Fernanda Pereira (Org.) Geociências: estabelecimento e evolução da civilização humana 3. Ponta Grossa: Atena, 2021. Cap.1, p.1-13.
Access to the book in its entirety on the publisher’s website:
https://www.finersistemas.com/atenaeditora/index.php/admin/api/ebookPDF/3189
The growth of hydrocarbons exploration and use as a source of fuel and raw material has led to a significant increase in soil and groundwater contamination by these substances. Subsurface contamination can be studied with geophysical methods. Biogeophysics has been standing out in studies of microbial activity and its changes in the environment, using geophysical parameters such as magnetic properties of the contaminated environment. This analysis can provide important information about biogeochemical evolution of the environment. In this work, we sought to identify the biogeochemical processes that took place in hydrocarbons contaminated areas and to associate these processes with magnetic signatures, obtained from thermomagnetic curves, which provide information about mineralogy, and from hysteresis curves, which provide information about the grain size of magnetic minerals. We studied samples from a creosote oil contaminated site. The results
obtained from the thermomagnetic curves indicate a lower occurrence of mineral phase transformations where the contaminant was present, suggesting that they have a lower
content of organic matter than others, as well as lower concentrations of magnetite. The results of hysteresis curves indicate the occurrence of ultrafine particles at the site and the decrease of particle size with depth.The results suggest suppressed mineral transformations at the contaminated region, when compared with the background. One possible explanation for this observation might be related to the biocide nature of the creosote oil, which reduced the natural iron reducing bacteria abundance and consequently the microbial metabolism at the contaminated region.
Reference:
MORAES, Carolina Silveira de; USTRA, Andréa Teixeira; BARBOSA, Alexandre Muselli; IMBERNON, Rosely Aparecida Liguori. Assinaturas magnéticas de processos biogeoquímicos em uma área contaminada por hidrocarbonetos. In: MARTINS, Fernanda Pereira (Org.) Geociências: estabelecimento e evolução da civilização humana 3. Ponta Grossa: Atena, 2021. Cap.1, p.1-13.
Access to the book in its entirety on the publisher’s website:
https://www.finersistemas.com/atenaeditora/index.php/admin/api/ebookPDF/3189
