title: Elucidating the microbial component of natural attenuation.
abstract: Microbial reactions are a key determinant in natural attenuation. However, providing unequivocal evidence of the extent of their involvement is challenging. Several approaches are being developed to meet this challenge, including the use of contaminant-specific transformation products, carbon- or hydrogen-based stable isotopic analysis and reactive transport modeling. These approaches emphasize the ongoing need to integrate strategically between temporally and spatially variant geochemical conditions, the ecological characteristics of the resident microbial communities and their resultant pollutant-transformation capabilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-3037, USA. barth.smets@uconn.edu
authors.forename: Barth F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Smets
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Pritchard
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D001711:Biotransformation; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008954:Models, Biological
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D004785:Environmental Pollutants