Quick
Search: 		  
advanced search
 GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help 
Geology Email Content Delivery
JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Geology; April 2004; v. 32; no. 4; p. 277-280; DOI: 10.1130/G20246.2
© 2004 Geological Society of America
This Article
Right arrow Figures Only
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Web of Science (18)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Roberts, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by Milliken, K. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation

Microbial precipitation of dolomite in methanogenic groundwater

Jennifer A. Roberts1, Philip C. Bennett2, Luis A. González3, G.L. Macpherson3 and Kitty L. Milliken4

1 Department of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA
2 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA
3 Department of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA
4 Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Texas 78712, USA

We report low-temperature microbial precipitation of dolomite in dilute natural waters from both field and laboratory experiments. In a freshwater aquifer, microorganisms colonize basalt and nucleate nonstoichiometric dolomite on cell walls. In the laboratory, ordered dolomite formed at near-equilibrium conditions from groundwater with molar Mg:Ca ratios of <1; dolomite was absent in sterile experiments. Geochemical and microbiological data suggest that methanogens are the dominant metabolic guild in this system and are integral to dolomite precipitation. We hypothesize that the attached microbial consortium reacts with the basalt surface, releasing Mg and Ca into solution, which drives dolomite precipitation via nucleation on the cell wall. These findings provide insight into the long-standing dolomite problem and suggest a fundamental role for microbial processes in the formation of dolomite across a wide range of environmental conditions.

Key Words: dolomite • biomineralization • methanogenesis • basalt weathering




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 GeologyHome page
M. Sanchez-Roman, C. Vasconcelos, T. Schmid, M. Dittrich, J. A. McKenzie, R. Zenobi, and M. A. Rivadeneyra
Aerobic microbial dolomite at the nanometer scale: Implications for the geologic record
Geology, November 1, 2008; 36(11): 879 - 882.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ajsHome page
S. Douglas
Mineralogical footprints of microbial life
Am J Sci, June 1, 2005; 305(6-8): 503 - 525.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Journal of Sedimentary ResearchHome page
T. Bosak and D. K. Newman
Microbial Kinetic Controls on Calcite Morphology in Supersaturated Solutions
Journal of Sedimentary Research, March 1, 2005; 75(2): 190 - 199.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USAHome page
K. Benzerara, T. H. Yoon, N. Menguy, T. Tyliszczak, and G. E. Brown Jr.
Nanoscale environments associated with bioweathering of a Mg-Fe-pyroxene
PNAS, January 25, 2005; 102(4): 979 - 982.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


JOURNAL HOME HELP CONTACT PUBLISHER SUBSCRIBE ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2009 by Geological Society of America