Terry Hazen, now the ENIGMA Subsurface Observatory Science Lead, has dedicated the past 20-plus years to unraveling what discoveries lie beneath the Y-12 National Security Complex. The complex first began refining uranium during World War II and has a history of hazardous groundwater contamination, not only from uranium but also acids, heavy metals, and nitrates. Surprisingly, Hazen determined years ago that the contaminated water hosts a thriving microbial community. This aligns closely with the Department of Energy’s interest in extreme environments’ impact on biogeochemistry and microbiology, the basic science umbrella under which ENIGMA research falls. Managed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ENIGMA aims to understand how microbial communities influence ecosystem processes at Y-12.
Read more on the University of Tennnessee, Knoxville Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Newsroom.