Microbial community response to biostimulation in a petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated site in Saskatoon, SK

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We propose to characterize and develop a conceptual model for microbial community changes associated with biostimulation of a hydrocarbon contaminated aquifer in Saskatoon, SK. The aquifer was contaminated by a fuel station over a period of several decades, and is one of many similar sites managed by the industry partner on this project, Federated Cooperatives Limited (FCL). These sites present a long-term liability for FCL's member co-operatives, and they are keen to refine the approaches they use to remediate these sites. To achieve this objective, it is important to have a holistic understanding of the interplay between the local geology, the distribution of the contaminants, the microbiology of the aquifer groundwater and soils, and the impact of biostimulation amendments on the system through time. We will use high-throughput amplicon sequencing to characterize microbial community changes in the groundwater at the site over a 6 month biostimulation period. We will also characterize core samples taken from the site to examine the in-situ microbiology and mineralogy in the soils prior to biostimulation.These data, along with geochemical analyses provided by FCL, will be used to construct a conceptual model for the biogeochemical changes driven by biostimulation in the aquifer. This will help us to build our understanding of how microbes respond to biostimulation at this site and and improve the strategies FCL uses for remediation of this and similar sites moving forward.