skip to main content


Search for: All records

Creators/Authors contains: "Brantley, Susan L."

Note: When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
What is a DOI Number?

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

  1. Oxidative weathering of pyrite plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of Fe and S in terrestrial environments. While the mechanism and occurrence of biologically accelerated pyrite oxidation under acidic conditions are well established, much less is known about microbially mediated pyrite oxidation at circumneutral pH. Recent work (Percak-Dennett et al., 2017, Geobiology, 15, 690) has demonstrated the ability of aerobic chemolithotrophic microorganisms to accelerate pyrite oxidation at circumneutral pH and proposed two mechanistic models by which this phenomenon might occur. Here, we assess the potential relevance of aerobic microbially catalyzed circumneutral pH pyrite oxidation in relation to subsurface shale weathering at Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHCZO) in Pennsylvania, USA. Specimen pyrite mixed with native shale was incubated in groundwater for 3 months at the inferred depth of in situ pyrite oxidation. The colonized materials were used as an inoculum for pyrite-oxidizing enrichment cultures. Microbial activity accelerated the release of sulfate across all conditions. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and metagenomic analysis revealed the dominance of a putative chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium from the genus Thiobacillus in the enrichment cultures. Previously proposed models for aerobic microbial pyrite oxidation were assessed in terms of physical constraints, enrichment culture geochemistry, and metagenomic analysis. Although we conclude that subsurface pyrite oxidation at SSCHZO is largely abiotic, this work nonetheless yields new insight into the potential pathways by which aerobic microorganisms may accelerate pyrite oxidation at circumneutral pH. We propose a new “direct sulfur oxidation” pathway, whereby sulfhydryl-bearing outer membrane proteins mediate oxidation of pyrite surfaces through a persulfide intermediate, analogous to previously proposed mechanisms for direct microbial oxidation of elemental sulfur. The action of this and other direct microbial pyrite oxidation pathways have major implications for controls on pyrite weathering rates in circumneutral pH sedimentary environments where pore throat sizes permit widespread access of microorganisms to pyrite surfaces. 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    As drinking‐water scarcity grows worldwide, we need to improve predictions of the quantity and quality of our water resources. An overarching problem for model improvement is that we do not know the geological structure of aquifers in sufficient detail. In this work, we demonstrate that mineral‐water reactions imprint structure in the subsurface that impacts the flow and transport of some chemical species. Specifically, pyrite, a ubiquitous mineral, commonly oxidizes and depletes in the upper layers of the weathering profile in most humid watersheds, only remaining at depths of meters. We hypothesize that variations in concentrations (C) of pyrite‐derived sulfate released into rivers as a function of discharge (q) reflect the rate‐limiting step and depth of pyrite‐oxidizing layers. We found that logC− logqbehaviors thus differ in small and large watersheds in the Susquehanna River Basin as well as in selected watersheds in the Western United States. Although coal mining changes pyrite oxidation from closed to open system with respect to O2, patterns in stream chemistry as a function of discharge are consistent with deep and shallow pyrite oxidation zones in small and large watersheds respectively. Therefore, understanding the subsurface patterns of mineral reactions and how they affect the architecture of aquifers will elucidate patterns of changing river chemistry and our ability to manage water resources in the future under accelerated land use and climate change.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract. Endmember mixing analysis (EMMA) is often used by hydrogeochemiststo interpret the sources of stream solutes, but variations in streamconcentrations and discharges remain difficult to explain. We discoveredthat machine learning can be used to highlight patterns in stream chemistrythat reveal information about sources of solutes and subsurface groundwaterflowpaths. The investigation has implications, in turn, for the balance ofCO2 in the atmosphere. For example, CO2-driven weathering ofsilicate minerals removes carbon from the atmosphere over ∼106-year timescales. Weathering of another common mineral, pyrite, releases sulfuricacid that in turn causes dissolution of carbonates. In that process,however, CO2 is released instead of sequestered from the atmosphere. Thus, understanding long-term global CO2 sequestration by weatheringrequires quantification of CO2- versus H2SO4-drivenreactions. Most researchers estimate such weathering fluxes from streamchemistry, but interpreting the reactant minerals and acids dissolved in streams has been fraught with difficulty. We apply a machine-learningtechnique to EMMA in three watersheds to determine the extent of mineraldissolution by each acid, without pre-defining the endmembers. The resultsshow that the watersheds continuously or intermittently sequester CO2, but the extent of CO2 drawdown is diminished in areas heavily affectedby acid rain. Prior to applying the new algorithm, CO2 drawdown wasoverestimated. The new technique, which elucidates the importance ofdifferent subsurface flowpaths and long-timescale changes in the watersheds,should have utility as a new EMMA for investigating water resourcesworldwide. 
    more » « less