A Sustainable Solution Using Ice Nucleation Active Bacteria to Enhance the Strength of Permafrost Under Climatic Warming
Juanjuan Zheng
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Liyun Tang
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
State Key Laboratory of Road Engineering Safety and Health in High-Altitude Regions, CCCC First Highway Consultants Co. Ltd, Xi'an, China
Correspondence:
Liyun Tang ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorJianguo Zheng
China Jikan Research Institute of Engineering Investigations and Design Co. Ltd., Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorPeiyong Qiu
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorLi Han
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Geological Resources and Geological Engineering Postdoctoral Research Mobile Station, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorGaosen Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
Key Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Microbial Resources and Engineering, Lanzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorHui Peng
State Key Laboratory of Road Engineering Safety and Health in High-Altitude Regions, CCCC First Highway Consultants Co. Ltd, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorHaibin Li
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorYongtang Yu
China United Northwest Institute for Engineering Design & Research Co. Ltd, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorHailiang Jia
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorJuanjuan Zheng
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Liyun Tang
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
State Key Laboratory of Road Engineering Safety and Health in High-Altitude Regions, CCCC First Highway Consultants Co. Ltd, Xi'an, China
Correspondence:
Liyun Tang ([email protected])
Search for more papers by this authorJianguo Zheng
China Jikan Research Institute of Engineering Investigations and Design Co. Ltd., Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorPeiyong Qiu
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorLi Han
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Geological Resources and Geological Engineering Postdoctoral Research Mobile Station, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorGaosen Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China
Key Laboratory of Extreme Environmental Microbial Resources and Engineering, Lanzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorHui Peng
State Key Laboratory of Road Engineering Safety and Health in High-Altitude Regions, CCCC First Highway Consultants Co. Ltd, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorHaibin Li
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorYongtang Yu
China United Northwest Institute for Engineering Design & Research Co. Ltd, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorHailiang Jia
School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, China
Search for more papers by this authorFunding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42271144, 42071100), Department of Science and Technology of Shaan (2022KXJ-086), and China Communications Construction (2022-ZJKJ-PTJS07).
ABSTRACT
Climatic warming accelerates permafrost ice thawing, resulting in ground subsidence and subsequent loss of load-bearing capacity. Compensating the loss of ice content by using ice nucleation active (INA) bacteria in permafrost can be efficient to solve this problem. However, the performance and work mechanism of INA bacteria catalyzing ice formation in permafrost under climatic warming remain unclear. Therefore, the effect of INA bacterium Pseudomonas syringae on the ice formation and shear strength of frozen soil is investigated by conducting nuclear magnet resonance (NMR) and direct shear tests. The unfrozen water content and the shear strength of specimens with P. syringae concentrations of 0–20 g/L under temperatures ranging from −5°C to −0.1°C are measured and compared. The classic nucleation theory is used to illustrate the work mechanism of P. syringae in permafrost. Results indicate that P. syringae can significantly increase the shear strength of frozen soil by 13%–64% during soil thawing. The enhanced shear strength is attributed to the ice-bonding cohesion at temperatures from −5°C to −1°C, and the internal friction angle from −0.5°C to −0.1°C. Adding P. syringae with a concentration of 1 g/L can slow down the permafrost warming rate and maintain the unfrozen water content at a constant value. P. syringae exhibits higher ice-triggering ability near 0°C resulting from the decreased nucleation barrier during soil thawing. Using INA bacteria provides a sustainable solution to deal with permafrost warming and thawing, and the resulting landform changes and structural instability.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
The data used to support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon request.
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