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Influence of biofilms on transport of fluids in subsurface granitic environments — some mineralogical and petrographical observations of materials from column experiments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

P. Coombs*
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
J. M. West
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
D. Wagner
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
G. Turner
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
D. J. Noy
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
A. E. Milodowski
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
A. Lacinska
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
H. Harrison
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
K. Bateman
Affiliation:
British Geological Survey (BGS), Kingsley Dunham Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG, UK
*

Abstract

Landfill and radioactive waste disposal risk assessments focus on contaminant transport and are principally concerned with understanding the movement of gas, water and solutes through engineered barriers and naturalgroundwater systems. However, microbiologicalactivity can impact on transport processes changing the chemicaland physicalcharacteristics of the subsurface environment. Such effects are generally caused by biofilms attached to rock surfaces. This paper will present some mineralogical and petrographical observations of materials extracted at the completion of an experimental column study which examined the influences of biofilm growth on groundwater flow through crushed diorite from the Äspö Hard Rock Underground Research Laboratory, Sweden.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2008

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