Microbial degradation of chemicals used in coal seam gas activities

This research will help improve understanding of the fate of chemical compounds used in coal seam gas (CSG) activities in the Narrabri region if these compounds were to come into contact with the environment.

CSIRO has developed a growing body of knowledge of microbial degradation of typical chemical compounds used in CSG activities and this project will focus on generating new information directly relevant to this region.

This project will establish microbial community and chemical baselines in agriculturally important surface and ground waters along with the two major soil types of the Narrabri region – the agriculturally important vertosols and the sodosolic soils of the Pilliga Forest.

This project will then assess and understand the capacity of microbes of these environments to degrade a range of chemicals likely to be used in CSG activities.

These outcomes will assist in the assessment of potential environmental impacts from CSG to the local Narrabri region.

Analysis of water and soil samples in this research will include the use of advanced environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques which allows the identification of all members of various microbial groups present in a particular environment using informative marker genes.