Geophysical signals associated to a landfill site biodegradation

• Grant number: 09/16948-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: March 01, 2010
• End date: February 28, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geophysics
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Alberto Mendonça
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Mendonça
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Recent studies suggest that redox processes associated to the biodegradation of contaminated organic sites generate a measurable electric potential (self-potential) at the ground surface. The sources of this potential (electric current poles) can be associated to terminal reactions of coupled redox processes. In principle the quantitative interpretation of SP signals can identify places within the plume with active terminal reactions. The positive poles indicating places with electron donors (oxidation) and the negative poles the places with electron acceptors (reduction). Since current strength is a function of the reaction rate, inference on biodegradation kinetics eventually may be achieved. These predictions are prescribed by a geobattery model recently developed by a research team to which some participants of this project have contributed. This proposal intends to test the geobattery model in a landfill contaminated site near the Billings Reservoir, São Paulo. The utility of the geobattery model will be addressed in recognizing one of its main predictions - the correspondence between terminal redox reactions and self potential current sources. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

FACHIN, SERGIO J. S.; ABREU, EDUARDO L.; MENDONCA, CARLOS A.; REVIL, ANDRE; NOVAES, GUILHERME C.; VASCONCELOS, SUZAN S.. Self-potential signals from an analog biogeobattery mode. GEOPHYSICS, v. 77, n. 4, p. EN29-EN37, JUL-AUG 2012. (09/16948-8, 07/05829-2)

MENDONCA, CARLOS A.; DOHERTY, RORY; FORNARO, ADALGIZA; ABREU, EDUARDO L.; NOVAES, GUILHERME C.; FACHIN, JR., SERGIO S.; LA-SCALEA, MAURO A.. Integrated earth resistivity tomography (ERT) and multilevel sampling gas: a tool to map geogenic and anthropogenic methane accumulation on brownfield sites. ENVIRONMENTAL EARTH SCIENCES, v. 74, n. 2, p. 1217-1226, JUL 2015. (09/16948-8)

Filed patent(s) as a result of this research project