Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons^™

Exploring The Use Of Covellite As A Proxy For Corrosion Of Native Copper By Sulphur Reducing Bacteria, Manan K. Joshi

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

We are analyzing the effect of sulphate reducing bacteria on native copper, and using that evidence to further support the initiative of having a deep geological repository to store nuclear material. Sulphate reducing bacteria are a concern for the deep geological repository as they cause the corrosion of regular copper. However native copper has gone billions of years without corrosion, which could either mean that it had not been exposed to sulphate reducing bacteria over the billions of years, or native copper is able to withstand corrosion despite the contact of sulphate reducing bacteria. We can find out by trying …

Investigation Of Shocked Basalts From Vargeão Dome And Vista Alegre: Implications For The Search For Life On Mars, Nikol Posnov

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Impact craters represent excellent astrobiological targets for planetary exploration missions to Mars. The impact of an asteroid or comet into a crystalline, H₂O-bearing target may result in development of a hydrothermal system and increase the habitability of the substrate for the colonization of endolithic microorganisms. Given that Mars’ surface is covered by cratered basaltic rock, this study investigated target rocks and impact breccias from Vargeão Dome and Vista Alegre impact structures that formed in basalt in the Paraná Basin of Brazil.

Utilizing petrography and micro-X-ray diffraction (μXRD), the degree of shock metamorphism in plagioclase was quantitively determined. Measuring …

Field Scale Application Of Nanoscale Zero Valent Iron: Mobility, Contaminant Degradation, And Impact On Microbial Communities, Chris M.D. Kocur

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis began by verifying that nanoscale zero valent iron (nZVI) synthesis methods could be scaled up and implemented at the field scale in a safe manner. This led to successful demonstration of nZVI injection and mobility under constant head gravity injection into a contaminated utility corridor in Sarnia, Ontario. Where field studies have fallen short in the past was linking the somewhat qualitative field geochemical parameters to other evidence of nZVI transport. Definitive nZVI detection was elusive in previous field studies due to the highly reactive nature of the particles caused by their high surface area. nZVI was detected …