Site of 1979 oil spill near Bemidji, Minnesota - Groundwater wells are seen sticking up from the ground.
Sasha Wagner received funding to investigate and track bio-refractory (i.e. resistant to microbial degradation) petroleum products in a shallow aquifer near Bemidji, Minnesota at the site of a 1979 oil spill. After clean-up efforts, ~400,000 liters of oil remains beneath the ground near the water table. The remaining oil continues to be a source of contaminants to the aquifer and has been monitored as part of the USGS National Crude Oil Spill Fate and Natural Attenuation Research Site for the last 30 years. In August, Sasha collected groundwater samples as part of the 2021 field campaign at the site. Ongoing research, led by PhD student Alex Collins, seeks to use stable carbon isotopes to track oil-derived compounds along the subterranean oil plume and to characterize natural (background) and oil-derived dissolved organic matter in groundwater.
Top row
View towards unnamed lake from site tent
Water quality assessment at well
Samples collected for carbon analyses (note orange-colored iron precipitation)
View of oil pipeline corridor
Bottom row
Filtration and sample collection
Working at the field station
Remaining oil can be seen in the soil core
Sample extraction in the hotel room
