Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Summary: Throughout the world there are many places with a high concentration of arsenic in water. In the Czech Republic is such a place the area of Mokrsko, where arsenic in groundwater reaches the values, which are well above recommended limits for drinking water. On the studied locality arsenic is bound to secondary minerals containing iron; however, in the reducing conditions of the fluvial sediments arsenic is bound to newly-formed realgar accumulations associated with organic matter. Aim of this diploma thesis was to characterize realgar from this locality and try to determine the way and conditions of its origin. For the purpose of research, realgar and pore- water have been sampled, using lysimeters and rhizon samplers. Specimen of realgar was characterized by numerous standard techniques (XRD, SEM, TEM, chemical and isotopic composition). Water samples have been analysed for As, F and S species. Analysis of realgar using XRD, SEM and TEM techniques confirmed the presence of nanocrystalline realgar, forming clusters and needle like aggregates. Domination of divalent iron and reduced form of As3+ (4,3-7,3 mg/L) in similar concentrations has been observed within the pore- water samples. The concentration of dissolved sulfide was very low (cca 30 µg/L), on the other hand, content of sulphate was always...

A natural arsenic anomaly at Mokrsko is a site of biogenic precipitation of realgar (As4S4) in stream sediment. The extent of the phenomenon in Mokrsko is globally unique. A previous study showed the ability of microorganisms to solubilize arsenic from its secondary minerals and to produce realgar precursors, i.e. sulfides and arsenites, by anaerobic respiration. The study also raised questions about the mechanism of realgar precipitation since physicochemical conditions favoring this reaction were never detected despite significant sampling efforts. We chemically and microbiologically analyzed sedimentary profiles to the depth of ca. 120 cm in order to understand the functioning of the biogeochemical system. The profiles comprised both the unsaturated and the saturated zone. We distinguished six different domains representing environments from the surface soil to anoxic sedimnent containing realgar-encrusted wood. An analysis of phylogenetic dissimilarity revealed that microbial communities from the various domains form distinct clusters. This suggests that different conditions prevail in the various domains, and that different biogeochemical processes take place there. Incubation (microcosm) experiments showed that bioprecipitation of realgar can be conducted in vitro. It requires a suppression...