A permeable reactive barrier (PRB) was installed during 2005/2006 to intercept, capture and degrade a fuel spill at the Main Power House, Casey Station, Antarctica. Here, evaluation of the performance of the PRB is conducted via interpretation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) concentrations, degradation indices and most probable number (MPN) counts of total heterotroph and fuel degrading microbial populations. Results indicate that locations which contained the lowest TPH concentrations also exhibited the highest levels of degradation and numbers of fuel degrading microbes, based on the degradation indices and MPN methods selected. This provides insights to the most appropriate reactive materials for use in PRB’s in cold and nutrient-limited environments.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	hydrocarbon bioremediation, Antarctic, permeable reactive barrier, hydrocarbon contaminant, petroleum hydrocarbon, Antarctic remediation
Research Division:	Environmental Sciences
Research Group:	Environmental biotechnology
Research Field:	Bioremediation
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences
UTAS Author:	Powell, SM (Dr Shane Powell)
ID Code:	104311
Year Published:	2015
Web of Science® Times Cited:	22
Deposited By:	Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture
Deposited On:	2015-11-09
Last Modified:	2017-11-03
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