Title:
Microbial Activity in Sediments: Effects on Soil Behavior

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dc.contributor.advisor Santamarina, J. Carlos
dc.contributor.author Rebata-Landa, Veronica en_US
dc.contributor.committeeMember Burns, Susan
dc.contributor.committeeMember Frost, David
dc.contributor.committeeMember Mitchell, James
dc.contributor.committeeMember Rix, Glenn
dc.contributor.committeeMember Sobecky, Patricia
dc.contributor.department Civil and Environmental Engineering en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2008-02-07T18:12:48Z
dc.date.available 2008-02-07T18:12:48Z
dc.date.issued 2007-08-23 en_US
dc.description.abstract Microorganisms have played a critical role in geological processes and in the formation of soils throughout geological time. It is hypothesized that biological activity can also affect soil properties in short engineering time-scales. Bioactivity in sediments is determined by the classical limiting factors (i.e., nutrients, water, C for biomass, temperature and pH) as well as by pore-size geometrical limits and mechanical interactions between bacterial cells and soil particles. These constraints restrict the range of grain size and burial depth where biomediated geochemical processes can be expected in sediments, affect the interpretation of geological processes and the development of engineering solutions such as bioremediation. When biological, geometrical and mechanical limiting factors are satisfied, bioactivity can be designed to alter the mechanical properties of a soil mass, including lowering the bulk stiffness of the pore fluid through controlled gas bio-generation, increasing the shear stiffness of the soil skeleton by biomineralization, and reducing hydraulic conduction through biofilm formation and clogging. Each of these processes can be analyzed to capture the bio-chemo-hydro-mechanical coupling effects, in order to identify the governing equations that can be used for process design. Design must recognize the implications of spatial variability, reversibility and environmental impacts. en_US
dc.description.degree Ph.D. en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/19720
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology en_US
dc.subject Gas bubbles en_US
dc.subject Biogenic gas en_US
dc.subject Pore-throat size en_US
dc.subject Bioclogging en_US
dc.subject Biocementation en_US
dc.subject Microbial activity in soils en_US
dc.subject.lcsh Sediments (Geology)
dc.subject.lcsh Microbiology
dc.subject.lcsh Soil mechanics
dc.subject.lcsh Particle size determination
dc.subject.lcsh Bacteria
dc.title Microbial Activity in Sediments: Effects on Soil Behavior en_US
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Dissertation
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.advisor Santamarina, J. Carlos
local.contributor.corporatename School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
relation.isAdvisorOfPublication b2384ae5-0372-4d9a-ac49-9eaf26604d75
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 88639fad-d3ae-4867-9e7a-7c9e6d2ecc7c
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
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