Radiocarbon eliminates interferences in the measurement of contaminant biodegradation rates

Soil contamination results in significant changes in the soil microbial ecology. Petroleum contaminants, and related organic compounds such as those generated by forest fires, are naturally present in natural environments. As a result, microbes capable to biodegrade these contaminants are relatively common. They use the carbon source for energy and produce carbon dioxide as an end-product. When an environmental petroleum release occurs, the soil microbial community adapts and starts degrading the released contaminant. The rate at which these processes (collectively called natural source-zone depletion, or NSZD) occur at contaminated sites can be quantified using soil respirometry techniques. The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced from these reactions can be used to estimate the rate of contaminant biodegradation.

In using this approach, it is fundamental to distinguish the carbon dioxide naturally emitted from soils, from that resulting from the biodegradation of contaminants. E-Flux uses a location-specific correction based on radiocarbon as part of its carbon dioxide passive sampling method. Check how this method eliminates the noise from non-contaminant related CO2 generating processes at the following link: https://bit.ly/14Ccorrection