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Bioremediation & Environmental Research Mesocosms (BERM)
Facility |
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 The
BERM facility consists of greenhouses, a small laboratory and a series of
reservoirs and mesocosms. Funding for the facility was provided by the
Georgia Research Alliance, a consortium of the major research
universities in Georgia. This research complex provides an accessible,
controlled environment for testing various bioremediation strategies for
contaminated water and sediments in the coastal marine area. A variety
of environments, including estuarine and freshwater lagoons, can be
simulated in the BERM. |
 The tidal changes in the estuarine mesocosms are
produced by a programmed
filling and the draining of water from the Skidaway River. One purpose of
the facility is to test strategies which can be used in the remediation of
sites contaminated with mixed wastes, e.g., organics and metals. Contaminated sediment from the LCP
Superfund Site in Brunswick, GA has been transferred to several
mesocosms with the role of plants in remediation being evaluated.
Besides bioremediation studies, biogeochemical studies can be carried out in
the BERM. |
| An example would be studies that follow the transformation
of natural metals and organics during passage through pore water sediment
and tissues. |
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This facility
can be used by scientists throughout the southeastern United States to
develop bioremediation methodologies and to test their application under
simulated field conditions.
More Information
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BERM
Research Projects |
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