Development of Arsenic and Iron Biogeochemical Gradients upon Anaerobiosis at Soil Aggregate Scale.

In aerated soils, As release is limited due to the strong interaction between As(V) and soil minerals. However, under anaerobic conditions, As desorption is stimulated by As(V) reduction to As(III) and reductive dissolution/transformation of Fe (hydr)oxides, common hosts of As. The effect of As(V) and Fe(III) reduction on As release has been extensively studied in laboratory batch and column systems; correlation of apparent Fe and As reduction, with concomitant release to pore water, has also been noted under field conditions. What remains unresolved is the coupling of biogeochemical and physical processes that ultimately control As transport within structured media such as soils. Soils are heterogeneous porous media that are comprised of individual aggregates having pores that are dominated by diffusive (aggregate interiors) or advective (aggregate exteriors) transport. As a consequence of physical and chemical differences in the interior and the exterior of aggregates, As(III,V) and Fe(II,III) chemical gradients develop. Here, we examine As release from constructed aggregates exposed to fluctuating redox conditions. Artificial aggregates were made with As(V) adsorbed ferrihydrite-coated sand homogeneously inoculated with Shewanella sp. ANA-3 (model As(V) and Fe(III) reducer) and then fused using an agarose binder into spheres. Aggregates were placed in a flow reactor and saturated flow of aerobic or anaerobic artificial groundwater media was initiated. Redox fluctuated in select systems to examine changes in chemical gradient under changing aeration status. Our results show that within aerated solutions, oxidized aggregate exteriors provide a “protective barrier” against As release despite anoxia within diffusively constrained aggregate interiors. During a transition to anaerobic conditions in advective zones, however, As is release and transport is promoted. Our study illustrates the microscale variation in biogeoechemical processes within soils and the importance of appreciating the spatial connection between reaction and transport fronts.