Effect of different nutrient sources in the bioremediation of soils chronically contaminated with hydrocarbons at Carlini station, Isla 25 de mayo, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

VILLALBA PRIMITZ, JULIA; HERNÁNDEZ, EDGARDO A.; MAC CORMACK, WALTER P.; RUBERTO, LUCAS A.M.; LO BALBO, ALFREDO; VAZQUEZ, SUSANA C.; COLMAN, DEBORAH

San Miguel de Tucumán

Congreso; XII Congreso Argentino de Microbiologia General-SAMIGE 2017; 2017

Asociación Civil de Microbiología General

Thelogistics involved in the operation of Antarctic stations and the developmentof scientific activities entail the risk of contamination by fuels. Previousstudies have shown that biostimulation of soils chronically contaminated withAntarctic Gasoil (AGO) produces significant increases in the removal ofhydrocarbons (HC). In this work, we report on the effect of amendment with Nand P in different formulations, on the efficiency of HC removal from soilswith chronic contamination by gasoil. Treatments were done in triplicate,simulating biopiles containing 15 kg of soil, which were sampled over 50 daysand a final sampling 365 days after the beginning of treatments, analyzing thechanges in the bacterial communities involved and the quality and quantity ofthe remaining HC. Our results shown although natural attenuation contributes tothe removal of HC in Antarctica the addition of nutrients to balance metabolismfavors the biodegradation of HC and increases their removal in shorter times,which is important in Antarctica given the short periods in which the soils arethawed and accessible to carry out a treatment.