Graeme Iain Paton

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• BSc Soil Science; PhD
• Head of Department at University of Aberdeen

The chemical behavior of mercury (Hg) and its interactions with naturally occurring ligands shape its environmental fate and impact. The neurotoxic properties of Hg are widely known and studied both in vitro and in vivo. However, there continues to be limited information on the influence of chelation with large organic ligands on the toxicity to ma...

Studies across multiple soils find increasing pH decreases water repellency. In this study, water repellency and a range of other soil physical properties of bulk soils, aggregates and intact specimens were measured on a long-term pH field experiment on a single sandy loam soil under a ley-arable crop rotation, with soil pH adjustments occurring an...

The Sea of Azov, an inland shelf sea bounding Ukraine and Russia, experiences the effects of ongoing and legacy pollution. One of the main contaminants of concern is the heavy metal mercury (Hg), which is emitted from the regional coal industry, former Hg refineries, and the historic use of mercury-containing pesticides. The aquatic biome acts both...

Background Liming agricultural land is essential to optimise crop yield and soil nutrients. Despite the importance of pH management in agricultural soils, liming applications have been decreasing in the United Kingdom for decades. There is no comparison of contemporary and historical liming requirement (LR) methods for Northern European, temperate...

Agricultural lime is an important natural resource for changing soil pH values. Annual lime applications in the UK have fallen for decades. Estimating soil factors that contribute to the retention and losses of lime would be useful for farmers making resource decisions. The aim of this research was to analyse the soil factors contributing to leachi...

Hydrophobized soils are a new geomaterial to be used in hydraulic barriers. Insufficient knowledge of their potential harm and environmental risks is a primary hinderance in their application as a fill material. To address this environmental concern, leachate tests and seed germination tests were conducted on two soils (Fujian sand and completely d...

In the context of biorefinery for the production of chemicals, this study optimised the processes to enhance the anaerobic production of ethanol and short-chain organic acids from glucose. The optimised variables included (with a total of 49 runs) residence time (2–100 h), temperature (25–35 °C), type of inoculum (soil or anaerobic digester), prese...

Investigating the impact of soil pH value management on forage grassland nutritional quality.

This study investigated the extractability, bioaccessibility and biodegradation of ¹⁴C-phenanthrene and ¹⁴C-octacosane in two soils from former oil refinery facilities over 341 days. The impact of biostimulation and bioaugmentation treatments was also evaluated. At 0, 31, 62, 124 and 341 days, the loss and extractability (using dichloromethane, met...

Mining activities are acknowledged to introduce contaminants into localised environments and cause wider spread diffuse pollution. The concentration, distribution and fate of arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) were studied at the former metalliferous Louisa Mine at Glendinning, Scotland. Soils and surface water were sampled and subsequently analysed to...

Recent discoveries of polyhalite (K2SO4.MgSO4.2CaSO4.2H2O) in the UK provide an alternative to conventional fertilizer sources. This work investigated the interaction of polyhalite, commercially known as POLY4, with soil using leaching columns. Different physical forms of polyhalite (powder, crushed rock and granules) were compared to potassium chl...

Engineered water repellent soils have great potential as construction materials for seepage barriers. By adjusting the water repellency of the soil, an impermeable or semi-permeable seepage barrier can be constructed to suit various engineering applications, such as impervious materials to contain water or semi-permeable materials to allow vegetati...

Polyhalite (K2SO4.MgSO4.2CaSO4.2H2O) is increasingly becoming of interest as a fertilizer with the discovery of the world’s largest resource of over 2.5 billion tonnes in North Yorkshire, UK. The nutrient content of polyhalite from this deposit is 14% K2O, 17% CaO, 6% MgO and 19% S. Important to understanding the agronomic performance of polyhalite...

Pedologists have given little attention to biological parameters in the classification of soils. Similarly, most soil biologists refer to soil on the basis of soil texture or site with no regard for international soil terminology. While it is considered that the relationship between soil microbial population, communities, and activities govern soil...

With reference to book reviews, a single reviewer expresses a singular opinion based upon what they read, what they have written and what they teach. So for this book I carried out a thorough personal review, passed it to a relevant colleague and (with the advantage of online access) encouraged a postgraduate class to make full use of it. Soil Poll...

Leaching column study investigating the movement of nutrients through the soil from different forms of polyhalite (commercially known as POLY4)

Polyhalite is an evaporite mineral with the chemical formula K2SO4.MgSO4.2CaSO4.2H2O. Previous work on granulated polyhalite (POLY4) indicated differences in mechanical behaviour of polyhalite treated soils under laboratory conditions for tensile strength. The current work investigates the effect of polyhalite at the mesocosm scale on the susceptib...

Rice plants grown on soils with elevated arsenic have been shown to have increased arsenic content in their grains. To gain a better understanding of the likelihood of high grain arsenic in rice grown in different soils, it is important to understand the factors affecting the bioavailability and mobility of arsenic. Paddy soils from six different p...

Microbial full-scale bioreporters are associated with a variety of names that include biosensors, bio-indicators and bio-reactive agents. The role of such microbial agents is to respond to the bioavailable fraction of a given analyte under “near environmental conditions”. Making use of appropriate assays with relevant and biologically compatible ex...

The potential for biotransformation of weathered hydrocarbon residues in soils collected from two commercial oil refinery sites (Soil A and B) was studied in microcosm experiments. Soil A has previously been subjected to on-site bioremediation and it was believed that no further degradation was possible while soil B has not been subjected to any tr...

Clean-up targets for toxic metals require that the site be “fit for purpose”. This means that targets are set with respect to defined receptors that reflect intended land-use. In this study, the likely threat of human exposure to toxic metals has been evaluated by simulating the human digestion process in vitro. The effects of key attributes (i.e....

Ecohydrological studies in seasonally dry climatic regions have revealed isotopic separation of the sources of water used by trees and those that generate stream flow, also referred to as the 'two water worlds' hypothesis. Here we investigated whether similar separation occurs in a wet, low energy northern (Latitude 57°) environment in Scotland. Fo...

The urease-positive fungi Pestalotiopsis sp. and Myrothecium gramineum, isolated from calcareous soil, were examined for their properties of CaCO3 and SrCO3 biomineralization. After incubation in media amended with urea and CaCl2 and/or SrCl2 , calcite (CaCO3 ), strontianite (SrCO3 ), vaterite in different forms (CaCO3 , (Cax Sr1-x )CO3 ) and olekm...

The remediation of metal-impacted soils requires either the enhanced mobility (and capture) of the target analytes or their effective complexation/immobilisation. In this study, a range of ameliorants (activated carbon, bonemeal, bentonite and CaSx (calcium polysulphide)) were compared to assess their effectiveness in immobilising metals in soils....

Background This paper assesses the feasibility of a single- or multi-stage process entirely based on microbial cultures, with no or minimal non-biological pretreatment and with no external enzyme addition, for the conversion of lignocellulosic materials into ethanol. The considered process involves three distinct microbial processes, which can be p...

Soil enzymatic activities and microbial biomass carbon (Cmic) are considered to betwo important soil biological activities influenced by oil contamination occurring in the soil ecosystem. This study focused on changes in thesoil microbial community enzymatic activities as a result of thepotential inhibitory effects of hydrocarbon contamination. The...

This study enabled an empirical assessment of a model carcinogen and its potency on human receptors. SOS-lux biosensors had numerous practical advantages over the traditional assays including procedural simplicity, ease of measurement and in vivo analysis without cell disruption. A key advantage of the application of biosensors is their ability to...

Zinc (Zn) is a metal ubiquitous in the environment and essential to biological systems. Elevated concentrations of Zn in soil, however, can pose a threat to biota. This study measured bioavailability and toxicity of Zn in soil using the luminescence marked constitutively expressed Escherichia coli HB101 (pUCD607) and the Zn specific E. coli MG1655...

Salmon fish farming is a major, and expanding, contributor to the economy in remote coastal areas of Scotland, employing over 2100 people in 2011. Most farms are located in sheltered, otherwise pristine, fjordic sealochs. As well as the final product, outputs from salmon farming include consented discharges of material such as faeces, excess feed p...

The environmental fate and potency of mutagenic compounds is of growing concern. This has necessitated the development and application of rapid assays to screen large numbers of samples for their genotoxic and carcinogenic effects. Despite the development of biosensors for genotoxicity assessment, these have not been calibrated against traditional...

There are significant concerns about the impact of heavy metal contamination in soils as a consequence of urbanisation and industrialisation in developing countries. Routine chemical analysis of soils is used to measure the total concentration of metals from point source or diffuse activities, but this fails to put in context the bioavailability of...

The application of semiconductor photocatalysis in waste water treatment has been intensively investigated over the past decade. Most studies involve titanium-based photocatalysts; however, practical applications are still limited by their poor visible light activity. As an alternative, a tungsten trioxide-based photoelectrocatalytic fuel cell (PEC...

The effect of cable oil concentration, nutrient amendment and bioaugmentation on cable oil component biodegradation in a pristine agricultural soil was investigated. Biodegradation potential was evaluated over 21 d by measuring cumulative CO(2) respiration on a Micro-Oxymax respirometer and (14)C-phenyldodecane mineralisation using a (14)C-respirom...

a b s t r a c t Copper (Cu) is a trace element essential for the healthy functioning of soil biological systems. However, at elevated concentrations Cu can be a potential toxicant. Consequently, an understanding of Cu availability and toxicity to soil biota is essential for effective ecological assessment of metal impacts in soil. The present study...

The impact of fullerene soot (FS), single-walled (SWCNTs) and multi-walled (MWCNTs) carbon nanotubes on the behaviour of two (14)C-PAHs in sterile soil was investigated. Different concentrations of carbon nanomaterials (0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.5%) were added to soil, and (14)C-phenanthrene and (14)C-benzo[a]pyrene extractability assessed over 80 d throu...

This study investigated the microbial degradation of (14)C-labelled hexadecane, octacosane, phenanthrene and pyrene and considered how degradation might be optimised in three genuinely hydrocarbon-contaminated soils from former petroleum refinery sites. Hydrocarbon mineralisation by the indigenous microbial community was monitored over 23 d. Hydroc...

Sphingobium chlorophenolicum is well known as pentachlorophenol (PCP) degrader. The objective of this study was to evaluate the PCP degradation in different systems: batch culture, soil and hydroponic systems using phytoremediation and bioaugmentation. In batch culture, a basal minimal medium with or without rhizosphere exudates extracted from wint...

A dynamic multimedia fugacity model was used to evaluate the partitioning and fate of petroleum hydrocarbon fractions and aromatic indicator compounds within the soil: oil matrix of three biopiles. Each biopile was characterised by four compartments: air, water, soil solids and non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL). Equilibrium partitioning in biopile A...

Despite the widespread availability of state-of-the-art biological techniques, remediation practitioners have been slow to adopt these technologies to assist in designing or indeed monitoring remediation strategies. In part, this is because practitioners are driven by cost and fail to see the benefit of emerging technologies, and in part because mo...

A six month field scale study was carried out to compare windrow turning and biopile techniques for the remediation of soil contaminated with bunker C fuel oil. End-point clean-up targets were defined by human risk assessment and ecotoxicological hazard assessment approaches. Replicate windrows and biopiles were amended with either nutrients and in...

The potential ecological hazard of metals in soils may be measured directly using a combination of chemical and biological techniques or estimated using appropriate ecological models. Terrestrial ecotoxicity testing has gained scientific credibility and growing regulatory interest; however, toxicity of metals has often been tested in freshly amende...

Temperature change is acknowledged to have a significant effect on soil biological processes and the corresponding sequestration of carbon and cycling of nutrients. Soils at high latitudes are likely to be particularly impacted by increases in temperature. Icelandic soils experience unusually frequent freeze and thaw cycles compare to other Arctic...

The factors affecting patterns of benthic [seabed] biology and chemistry around 50 Scottish fish farms were investigated using linear mixed-effects models that account for inherent correlations between observations from the same farm. The abundance of benthic macrofauna and sediment concentrations of organic carbon were both influenced by a signifi...

The warming of Arctic regions is causing higher winter and spring temperatures, less snow cover and intensifying seasonal patterns, which in turn have led to a longer growing season in colder regions. In Iceland the climate has become warmer and wetter with lengthening of the growing season and a corresponding increase in arable production. The aim...

The warming of Arctic regions is causing higher winter and spring temperatures, less snow cover and intensifying seasonal patterns, which in turn have led to a longer growing season in colder regions. In Iceland the climate has become warmer and wetter with lengthening of the growing season and a corresponding increase in arable production. The aim...

A decade ago, reviews suggested that the future advances in environmental technologies would rest in the integration of biological and chemical technologies. The development and application of whole cell bioreporters has shown great promise in the laboratory and under controlled conditions, but there is limited empirical evidence of field applicati...

To examine plant terpenoids as inducers of TCE (trichloroethylene) biotransformation by an indigenous microbial community originating from a plume of TCE-contaminated groundwater. One-litre microcosms of groundwater were spiked with 100 micromol 1(-1) of TCE and amended weekly for 16 weeks with 20 microl 1(-1) of the following plant monoterpenes: l...

Temperature change is acknowledged to have a significance effect on soil biological processes and the corresponding sequestration of carbon and the cycling of key nutrients. Soils at high latitudes are likely to be particularly impacted by increases in temperature. In this study, the response of a range of soil microbial parameters (respiration, nu...

Soil was spiked with [9-(14)C]phenanthrene and [1-(14)C]hexadecane at 50 mg kg(-1) and aged for 1, 25, 50, 100 and 250 d. At each time point, the microcosms were amended with aqueous solutions of cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) at a range of concentrations (0-40 mM). Mineralisation assays and aqueous HP-beta-CD extractions were performed to assess the ef...

Bioreporters have been widely acknowledged to represent new and novel approaches in applied microbiology. Despite a plethora of constructions covering a diverse range of detection devices and host organisms, genuine applications are rare. Here, their application in the areas of general environmental microbiology, analytical detection and bioremedia...

Slurry-based mineralisation assays are widely used to investigate contaminant biodegradation in soil; however, the importance of shaking speed on microbial degradation has not been considered. This study investigated the mineralisation of (14)C-analogues of phenanthrene, hexadecane and octacosane, shaken at 0, 25 and 100 rpm. The results showed tha...

Copper-based antifoulant paints and the sea lice treatment Slice are widely used, and often detectable in the sediments beneath farms where they are administered. Ten-day, whole sediment mesocosm experiments were conducted to examine how increasing sediment concentrations of copper or Slice influenced final water column concentrations of ammonium-n...

There are strong drivers to increasingly adopt bioremediation as an effective technique for risk reduction of hydrocarbon impacted soils. Researchers often rely solely on chemical data to assess bioremediation efficiently, without making use of the numerous biological techniques for assessing microbial performance. Where used, laboratory experiment...

Despite numerous reviews suggesting that microbial biosensors could be used in many environmental applications, in reality they have failed to be used for which they were designed. In part this is because most of these sensors perform in an aqueous phase and a buffered medium, which is in contrast to the nature of genuine environmental systems. In...

Despite the widespread and successful use of luminescence-based bioassays in water testing, their applications to soils and sediments is less proven. In part this is because such bioassays have mainly been carried out in an aqueous-based medium and, as such, favour contaminants that are readily water-soluble. In this study, aqueous solutions and so...

The aim of this study was to investigate the prediction of (14)C-phenanthrene and (14)C-hexadecane biodegradation in the presence of other hydrocarbons in soil using beta- and alpha-cyclodextrin (CD) solutions, respectively. Prediction of the biodegradation of (14)C-phenanthrene using the beta-CD extraction was robust under single, co-contaminant a...

The commercial farming of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, typically requires the periodic application of copper-based anti-foulants and chemotherapeutic treatments, including Slice®, Excis®, Salmosan® and Aquatet®/Tetraplex® to reduce the effects of biological pests. Information on the environmental safety of any chemical agent released into the aqua...

A sequential ultrasonic extraction method for contaminated soils with weathered hydrocarbons is presented. The method covers the determination of total petroleum hydrocarbons between nC 8 and nC 40, and subranges of hydrocarbons including diesel range organic compounds, kerosene range organic compounds, and mineral oil range organic compounds in so...

Level I and II fugacity approaches were used to model the environmental distribution of benzene, anthracene, phenanthrene, 1-methylphenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene in a four phase biopile system, accounting for air, water, mineral soil and non-aqueous phase liquid (oil) phase. The non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) and soil phases were the dominant par...

It is important to study the rate determining processes of chemical weathering and soil formation in volcanic islands since a significant part of the carbon fixed by chemical weathering of silicates on Earth is fixed at the surface of volcanic islands. These soils are fertile and much of the river suspended matter delivered to the ocean stems from...

Chemical extractions have been shown to measure the biodegradable fraction of aromatic contaminants in soil; however, there is little research on the chemical prediction of aliphatic hydrocarbon degradation. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential for cyclodextrin extractions to predict hexadecane biodegradation in soil. Soils were a...

Bioluminescence-based bacterial biosensors are often reported as reliable and efficient tools for risk assessment and environmental monitoring. However, there are few data comparing the metabolism of genetically engineered strains to the corresponding wild type. A pollutant-degrading bacterium capable of mineralising 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid...

The bioluminescence response of a genetically modified (lux-marked) bacterium to potentially toxic elements (PTEs) was monitored using an in vitro assay. Washed cells of Pseudomonas fiuorescens were added to solutions containing various concentrations of metal salts. Bioluminescence, involving either plasmid or chromosomally encoded lux genes, decl...

To assess the changes in acute toxicity and biodegradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (collectively referred to as BTEX) compounds in soil over time and compare the performances of biological and chemical techniques. Biological methods (lux-based bacterial biosensors, basal respiration and dehydrogenase activity) were related to c...

Sphingobium chlorophenolicum is well known as pentachlorophenol (PCP) degrader. The objective of this study was to evaluate the PCP degradation in soil and hydroponic systems using a bioaugmentation technique. Measurements of PCP concentrations were carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. The toxic effect of PCP on...

A soil was amended with (14)C-analogues of naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, B[a]P or hexadecane at 50 mg kg(-1) and the development of catabolic activity was assessed by determining the rate and extent of (14)CO(2) evolution at time points over 180 days. The catabolic potential of the soil was hexadecane>naphthalene>phenanthrene>pyrene>B[a]P, det...

Sphingobium chlorophenolicum is well known as a pentachlorophenol (PCP) degrader. The objective of this study was to evaluate PCP degradation in a loamy sandy soil artificially contaminated with PCP using phytoremediation and bioaugmentation. Measurements of PCP concentrations were carried out using high performance liquid chromatography analyses (...

Biodegradation has been identified as a major loss process for organic contaminants in soils and, as a result, microbial strategies have been developed for the remediation of contaminated land. Prediction of the biodegradable fraction would be important for determining bioremediation end-points in the clean-up of contaminated land. The aim of this...

Aliphatic hydrocarbons make up a substantial portion of organic contamination in the terrestrial environment. However, most studies have focussed on the fate and behaviour of aromatic contaminants in soil. Despite structural differences between aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, both classes of contaminants are subject to physicochemical processe...

We provide a primer and critical review of the characterization, risk assessment, and bioremediation of weathered hydrocarbons. Historically the remediation of soil contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons has been expressed in terms of reductions in total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) load rather than reductions in risk. There are several techniques...

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a degradação de pentaclorophenol (PCP) por S. chlorophenolica em dois diferentes tipos de solo (arenoso e argiloso) na presença e ausência de plantas (trigo - Triticum aestivum). As concentrações de PCP foram determinadas mediante Cromatografia a Líquido de Alta Eficiência (CLAE). Os efeitos tóxicos de PCP fora...

Despite the widespread and successful use of luminescence-based bioassays in water testing, their applications to soils and sediments is less proven. In part this is because such bioassays have mainly been carried out in an aqueous-based medium and, as such, favour contaminants that are readily water-soluble. In this study, aqueous solutions and so...

Remediation programmes are considered complete when human risk-based criteria are met. These targets are unrelated to the ecological parameters that may be important with regard to future soil uses. As a consequence, there has been a move towards the consideration of biological indicators for hazard assessment in conjunction with the remediation of...

Although the fate of organotins has been widely studied in the marine environment, fewer studies have considered their impact in terrestrial systems. The degradation and toxicity of triphenyltin in autoclaved, autoclaved-reinoculated and non-sterilised soil was studied in a 231 day incubation experiment following a single application. Degradation a...

Studies on the influence of the rhizosphere on the growth of Sphingomonas chlorophenolica during Pentacholophenol (PCP) degradation in batch culture and in soil were carried out. In batch culture, a basal minimal medium with or without rhizosphere exudates extracted from winter wheat was used. In soil systems, degradation experiments were performed...

The carbon in soil pore water from a Histic Andosol from Western Iceland was studied at three different scales; in the field, in undisturbed outdoor mesocosms and in laboratory repacked microcosms. Pore water was extracted using suction cup lysimeters and hollow-fibre tube sampler devices (Rhizon samplers). There were significant differences in all...

Soils bind heavy metals according to fundamental physico-chemical parameters. Bioassays, using bacterial biosensors, were performed in pore waters extracted from 19 contrasting soils individually amended with Cd, Cu and Zn concentrations related to the EU Sewage Sludge Directive. The biosensors were responsive to pore waters extracted from Zn amend...

Slugs are serious pests of oilseed rape (canola) and wheat with most damage occurring just after sowing and seedling emergence. As an alternative to the use of bait pellets, molluscicidal seed treatments have been shown to protect seeds and seedlings from slug damage in laboratory and semi-field experiments. However, protection offered to plants in...

An evaluation of the response of an Andosol and a Cambisol to acid deposition and weathering rates was studied by using a controlled laboratory leaching experiment. Both soils where derived from mafic parent material, a Histic Andosol from Western Iceland and a Cambisol from North East Scotland. De-ionized water and water acidified with H2SO4 (pH 3...

Histic Andosol in Western Iceland was studied using laboratory based repacked microcosms conjointly with sampling of field soil solution. The main primary phase of the 205 cm thick soil profile was basaltic glass, allophane content ranged from 2 to 22 wt.% and the soil carbon content ranged from 11 to 42 wt.%. At constant temperature, the dissoluti...