McBeth Geomicrobiology Research Group: Research

Department of Geology, University of Regina

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Mine ore and waste microbiology

Dr McBeth is a co-applicant on the NSERC-TERRE-NET (https://terre-net.ca/) Strategic Network Grant (2016-2021). This initiative is led by David Blowes at the University of Waterloo and includes researchers from institutions across Canada and internationally. These grants provide McBeth Group students with amazing training, travel, and project opportunities. We are excited to host students and PDFs from other network members over the next few years as part of this program!

Uranium mine waste projects: the McBeth group has partnered for the past four years with Cameco on projects relating to uranium mine ore and waste biogeochemistry. Samira Sumaila (MSc 2017) studied the mineralogy and geochemistry of ores from Cameco's Smith Ranch-Highlands Mine in Wyoming, and Jon Vyskocil (MSc 2017) studied the microbiology of uranium mine wastes from the Rabbit Lake In-pit Tailings Management Facility in Northern Saskatchewan. This research was funded through Dr McBeth's NSERC Discovery Grant, The Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, MITACs Accelerate, and in-kind support from Cameco. The Fedoruk CCNI project is a collaboration with soil chemist Derek Peak in USask Soil Sciences.

Saline wastewater treatment: Dr McBeth collaborated with Prof Wonjae Chang from USask Civil and Geological Engineering on a project on potash mine waste geomicrobiology. As part of this project, student Nicola Harris (MSc 2017) isolated numerous halophilic microbes from potash mine wastes. This project is funded by IMII , NSERC CRD, and MITACs Accelerate grants to Prof Wonjae Chang.

Oil sands tailings: Dr McBeth collaborates with Prof Matthew Lindsay for the past six years on projects relating to oil sands tailings biogeochemistry. Students Kaitlyn Heaton (MSc 2015) and Sarah Rudderham (current MSc student) have been studying the role of microbes in fine tailings biogeochemistry. These projects are funded by Prof Lindsay's NSERC-Industrial Research Chair.

Microbes and iron and manganese biogeochemistry

The geomicrobiology of iron-cycling microbes has been a focal point of Dr McBeth's research for over 15 years.

Iron reducing microbes and petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) biostimulation: Prof McBeth has partnered with Federated Cooperatives Ltd on a project biostimulating microbial degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at a legacy gas station site in Saskatoon. Student Scott Colville (MSc 2018) examined the influence of biostimulation on microbial communities and iron mineralogy at the study site. Iron-reducing microbes including relatives of known PHC degraders are numerically abundant in the contaminated aquifer sediments. Dr McBeth is planning future work studying materials and microbes from this site and others to explore the role of iron reducers in PHC degradation. This work has been funded through an NSERC Engage grant, Dr McBeth's Discovery Grant, and funds from FCL. This project is part of the Sustainable In-Situ Remediation Co-operative Alliance (SIRCA) initiative.

Manganese removal from groundwater using biofiltration: in a collaboration led by Prof Wonjae Chang from USask Civil and Geological Engineering, student Sandy Dangeti (MSc 2017) examined the microbial communities and biogeochemistry in biofiltration systems designed to remove manganese from groundwater without addition of harsh chemicals. Sandy isolated numerous putative MnOB and identified known and putative manganese and iron-cycling microbes in the biofiltration system. This project has been funded by NSERC Engage, NSERC Discovery Grant, and MITACs Accelerate grants to Prof Wonjae Chang, and NSERC Discovery Grant funds to Dr McBeth, as well as industry partner in-kind and support from the Delco Water Division of Delco Automation Inc.

Palaeontology

Microbes in the rock record: Dr McBeth has collaborated with Prof Gabriela Mangano for the past few years on a project exploring metal biosignatures in ichnofossils. Ichnofossils are trace fossils of the activities of animals, such as worm burrows. Two undergraduate project students, Julie Berg and Kaitlyn Crawford, have assisted with gathering modern samples and collecting data on the VESPERS and SGM beamlines at the Canadian Light Source for this project.

Archaeology and toxicology

Franklin expedition hair and nail study: Dr McBeth collaborated with Dr Jennie Christensen of TrichAnalytics (previously of Stantec) on a project studying lead, copper, and zinc in thumbnail and toenail samples from John Hartnell, one of the men who died in the historic Franklin expedition. This research was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

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Contact:

joyce dot mcbeth at uregina dot ca

Address:

Department of Geology
University of Regina
3737 Wascana Parkway
Regina, SK, S4S 0A2