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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.
Published on: June 4, 2021
Microbial control of silicate weathering in organic-rich ground water
Abstract:
An in situ microcosm study of the influence of surface-adhering bacteria on silicate diagenesis in a shallow petroleum-contaminated aquifer showed that minerals were colonized by indigenous bacteria and chemically weathered at a rate faster than theoretically predicted. Feldspar and quartz fragments were placed in anoxic, organic-rich ground water, left for 14 months, recovered, and compared to unreacted controls with scanning electron microscopy. Ground-water geochemistry was characterized before and after the experiment. Localized mineral etching probably occurred in a reaction zone at the bacteria-mineral interface where high concentrations of organic acids, formed by bacteria during metabolism of hydrocarbon, selectively mobilized silica and aluminum from the mineral surface.
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