the amount of interconnected pore space in a soil or rock through which fluids can pass, expressed as a percent of bulk volume. Some of the voids and pores in a rock or soil will be filled with static fluid or other material, so that effective porosity is always less than total porosity.
a chemical entity that accepts electrons transferred to it from another compound. It is an oxidizing agent that, by virtue of its accepting electrons, is itself reduced in the process. See also terminal electron acceptor and oxidation-reduction.
a chemical entity that donates electrons to another compound. It is a reducing agent that, by virtue of its donating electrons, is itself oxidized in the process. (see also electron acceptor and oxidation-reduction.)
(a) any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts. (b) a protein that a living organism uses in the process of degrading a specific compound. The protein serves as a catalyst in the compound's biochemical transformation.
a well employed to extract fluids (either water, gas, free product, or a combination of these) from the subsurface. Extraction is usually accomplished by either a pump located within the well or suction created by a vacuum pump at the ground surface.
used to describe organisms that are able to grow in either the presence or absence of a specific environmental factor (e.g., oxygen). See also facultative anaerobe.
microorganisms that can grow in either the presence or the absence of molecular oxygen. In the absence of oxygen these microorganism can utilize another compound (e.g., sulfate or nitrate) as a terminal electron acceptor.
an equation describing the rate at which a gas transfers into solution. The change in concentration of gas in solution is proportional to the product of an overall mass transfer coefficient and the concentration gradient.
an equation relating the change of concentration with time due to diffusion to the change in concentration gradient with distance from the source of concentration.
aerobic, multicellular, nonphotosynthetic, heterotrophic microorganisms. The fungi include mushrooms, yeast, molds, and smuts. Most fungi are saprophytes, obtaining their nourishment from dead organic matter. Along with bacteria, fungi are the principal organisms responsible for the decomposition of carbon in the biosphere. Fungi have two ecological advantages over bacteria
a type of stemmed valve that is used for flow control. The valve has a globe shaped plug that rises or falls vertically when the stem handwheel is rotated.
Forgot your password?
New user?
dissolution
