Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Microorganism are the foundation of all ecosystems; they regulate the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nutrients, such as phosphorus, nitrogen and sulfur, and many trace elements, with far-reaching global consequences. They are key players in the biotechnology sector and are among the main producers of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. In addition, soil microbial communities can help cleaning up the environment, for example by degrading petroleum hydrocarbon (PH) contaminants released by crude oil spills. Given that 60% of all contaminated sites in Canada are reportedly polluted with PHs, models that simulate PH biodegradation in soils can provide an essential service to an environmentally responsible energy sector. The Environmental Services units of Imperial Oil, with global support from ExxonMobil, and the Ecohydrology Research Group at the University of Waterloo are therefore joining forces to build a long-term research collaboration focused on the predictive modelling of the environmental conditions and processes controlling the microbial degradation of PHs in contaminated soils. Through a combination of laboratory experiments and modelling, the proposed research will focus on determining how variable hydrological and climatic drivers, specifically soil freezing and thawing and groundwater table fluctuations, modulate the microbial reaction pathways that are responsible for the natural degradation of PH. We will develop an entirely new theoretical framework that links the production and allocation of energy within microbial communities to the rates at which soil microorganisms carry out the chemical transformations that contribute to PH degradation, under environmentally relevant, but variable, conditions. With its emphasis on cold climate conditions, the proposed project will enhance the capacity of Canada's energy industry to mitigate the environmental impacts of PH pollution. _x000d_Les microorganismes sont la base de tous les écosystèmes; ils contrôlent les cycles biogéochimiques du carbone, des nutriments tels que le phosphore, l'azote et le sulfure, et de plusieurs éléments en traces, avec des conséquences globales très considérab