Magnetic signatures of biogeochemical processes in an area contaminated by hydrocarbons

• Grant number: 19/23677-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: February 01, 2020
• End date: January 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Geophysics
• Principal Investigator: Andréa Teixeira Ustra
• Grantee: Carolina Silveira de Moraes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Biogeophysics has been consolidated as the area of geophysics that studies the effect of microbial activity on the signature of geophysical parameters. Advances in biogeophysics have revolutionized the field of shallow geophysics by incorporating the mechanisms of interaction between effects and due to biological processes. In recent years the magnetic properties of contaminated areas have been investigated in conjunction with the physical properties traditionally investigated in shallow (ie, electrical) geophysics. With this, the study of contaminated areas began to be inserted more broadly in the research area called "magnetism".which studies the magnetic properties related to climate and pedogenic processes. Recent studies have incorporated methods of environmental magnetism in conjunction with traditional shallow geophysical methods to understand the geophysical signatures of highly dynamic environments (e.g., biogeochemical hotspots, contamination plumes). This research project aims to determine magnetic properties of sediment samples from an area contaminated with creosote landfill oil, which allow to identify biogeochemical processes that occur in the area, in particular processes related to the biodegradation of oil compounds. It is hoped with this, help the interpretation of geophysical studies carried out in the area. (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)

DE MORAES, CAROLINA SILVEIRA; USTRA, ANDREA TEIXEIRA; BARBOSA, ALEXANDRE MUSELLI; IMBERNON, ROSELY APARECIDA LIGUORI; TENGAN, CINTHIA MIDORY UEHARA. Magnetic signatures of a creosote oil contaminated site: case study in Sao Paulo, Brazil. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 12, n. 1, p. 10-pg., 2022-12-17. (19/23677-2)