16 research outputs found
GridLabs: Facilitating collaborative access to remote laboratories
eScience is usually characterized by the cooperation of distributed groups of researchers who share data and computing environments and perform experiments together. Often immense data sets that were produced by expensive equipments need to be accessed and evaluated. Such eScience scenarios require both, support for collaboration of researchers at distant locations and also the remote control of the shared laboratory devices. However, this type of remote experimentation and collaboration must be taught during university education. In this paper, we propose a framework that supports the training of above practices through the provision of a dedicated collaboration environment. It extends current approaches with support for a life cycle of remote labs, including scheduling the access to remote labs as well as defining access permissions. Our experiences in teaching lab courses suggest that the approach is also applicable in eScience scenarios
Predominance of Biotic over Abiotic Formation of Halogenated Hydrocarbons in Hypersaline Sediments in Western Australia
Volatile
halogenated organic compounds (VOX) contribute to ozone
depletion and global warming. There is evidence of natural VOX formation
in many environments ranging from forest soils to salt lakes. Laboratory
studies have suggested that VOX formation can be chemically stimulated
by reactive Fe species while field studies have provided evidence
for direct biological (enzymatic) VOX formation. However, the relative
contribution of abiotic and biotic processes to global VOX budgets
is still unclear. The goals of this study were to quantify VOX release
from sediments from a hypersaline lake in Western Australia (Lake
Strawbridge) and to distinguish between the relative contributions
of biotic and abiotic VOX formation in microbially active and sterilized
microcosms. Our experiments demonstrated that the release of organochlorines
from Lake Strawbridge sediments was mainly biotic. Among the organochlorines
detected were monochlorinated, e.g., chloromethane (CH<sub>3</sub>Cl), and higher chlorinated VOX compounds such as trichloromethane
(CHCl<sub>3</sub>). Amendment of sediments with either Fe(III) oxyhydroxide
(ferrihydrite) or a mixture of lactate/acetate or both ferrihydrite
and lactate/acetate did not stimulate VOX formation. This suggests
that although microbial Fe(III) reduction took place, there was no
stimulation of VOX formation via Fe redox transformations or the formation
of reactive Fe species under our experimental conditions