Abstract
Microbially catalyzed redox reactions have an important influence on the chemical composition of many groundwaters. For example, carbon dioxide production during the oxidation of organic matter drives carbonate and silicate mineral dissolution in pristine carbonate aquifers and thus has a significant impact on water quality and secondary porosity (Chapelle 1993). Microbial reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) generates undesirably high concentrations of dissolved iron in aquifers (Lovley et al. 1990; Chapelle and Lovley 1992) and microbial sulfate reduction and methane production result in the accumulation of sulfide and methane (Thorstenson et al. 1979). The degradation of organic contaminants in polluted aquifers is a major mechanism for attenuating the transport of contaminants (Salanitro 1993; Lyngkilde and Christensen 1992; Baedecker et al. 1993). Thus, to better understand existing groundwater quality, and to predict the effect of perturbations on groundwater quality, it is necessary to have information on the types of microbial processes taking place in the subsurface and on the rates of these processes.
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Lovley, D.R., Chapelle, F.H. (1998). A Modeling Approach to Elucidating the Distribution and Rates of Microbially Catalyzed Redox Reactions in Anoxic Groundwater. In: Koch, A.L., Robinson, J.A., Milliken, G.A. (eds) Mathematical Modeling in Microbial Ecology. Chapman & Hall Microbiology Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4078-6_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4078-6_9
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