A mass of organic or inorganic solid fragmented material, or the solid fragment itself, that comes from the weathering of rock and is carried by, suspended in, or dropped by air, water, or ice. It refers also to a mass that is accumulated by any other natural agent and that forms in layers on the earth's surface, such as sand, gravel, silt, mud, fill, or loess. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p1689)

The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.

Water containing no significant amounts of salts, such as water from RIVERS and LAKES.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.

Constituent of 30S subunit prokaryotic ribosomes containing 1600 nucleotides and 21 proteins. 16S rRNA is involved in initiation of polypeptide synthesis.

Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water.

Large natural streams of FRESH WATER formed by converging tributaries and which empty into a body of water (lake or ocean).

DNA sequences encoding RIBOSOMAL RNA and the segments of DNA separating the individual ribosomal RNA genes, referred to as RIBOSOMAL SPACER DNA.

The relationships of groups of organisms as reflected by their genetic makeup.

One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.

The simplest saturated hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, flammable gas, slightly soluble in water. It is one of the chief constituents of natural gas and is formed in the decomposition of organic matter. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

Elimination of ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS; PESTICIDES and other waste using living organisms, usually involving intervention of environmental or sanitation engineers.

A group of PROTEOBACTERIA represented by morphologically diverse, anaerobic sulfidogens. Some members of this group are considered bacterial predators, having bacteriolytic properties.

A group of gram-negative, anaerobic bacteria that is able to oxidize acetate completely to carbon dioxide using elemental sulfur as the electron acceptor.

One of the three domains of life (the others being BACTERIA and Eukarya), formerly called Archaebacteria under the taxon Bacteria, but now considered separate and distinct. They are characterized by: (1) the presence of characteristic tRNAs and ribosomal RNAs; (2) the absence of peptidoglycan cell walls; (3) the presence of ether-linked lipids built from branched-chain subunits; and (4) their occurrence in unusual habitats. While archaea resemble bacteria in morphology and genomic organization, they resemble eukarya in their method of genomic replication. The domain contains at least four kingdoms: CRENARCHAEOTA; EURYARCHAEOTA; NANOARCHAEOTA; and KORARCHAEOTA.

Deoxyribonucleic acid that makes up the genetic material of bacteria.

A partially enclosed body of water, and its surrounding coastal habitats, where saltwater from the ocean mixes with fresh water from rivers or streams. The resulting mixture of seawater and fresh water is called brackish water and its salinity can range from 0.5 to 35 ppt. (accessed http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/estuaries/estuaries01_whatis.html)

A great expanse of continuous bodies of salt water which together cover more than 70 percent of the earth's surface. Seas may be partially or entirely enclosed by land, and are smaller than the five oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic).

Deoxyribonucleic acid that makes up the genetic material of archaea.

A multistage process that includes cloning, physical mapping, subcloning, determination of the DNA SEQUENCE, and information analysis.

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

Inland bodies of still or slowly moving FRESH WATER or salt water, larger than a pond, and supplied by RIVERS and streams.

Genes, found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, which are transcribed to produce the RNA which is incorporated into RIBOSOMES. Prokaryotic rRNA genes are usually found in OPERONS dispersed throughout the GENOME, whereas eukaryotic rRNA genes are clustered, multicistronic transcriptional units.

Adverse effect upon bodies of water (LAKES; RIVERS; seas; groundwater etc.) caused by CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTANTS.

A plant family of the order Rhizophorales, subclass Rosidae, class Magnoliopsida, that includes mangrove trees.

The variety of all native living organisms and their various forms and interrelationships.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the soil. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.

The complete absence, or (loosely) the paucity, of gaseous or dissolved elemental oxygen in a given place or environment. (From Singleton & Sainsbury, Dictionary of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, 2d ed)

Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.

Substances or organisms which pollute the water or bodies of water. Use for water pollutants in general or those for which there is no specific heading.

Environments or habitats at the interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems and truly aquatic systems making them different from each yet highly dependent on both. Adaptations to low soil oxygen characterize many wetland species.

Uranium. A radioactive element of the actinide series of metals. It has an atomic symbol U, atomic number 92, and atomic weight 238.03. U-235 is used as the fissionable fuel in nuclear weapons and as fuel in nuclear power reactors.

Contamination of bodies of water (such as LAKES; RIVERS; SEAS; and GROUNDWATER.)

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

The relative amounts of the PURINES and PYRIMIDINES in a nucleic acid.

The science of the earth and other celestial bodies and their history as recorded in the rocks. It includes the study of geologic processes of an area such as rock formations, weathering and erosion, and sedimentation. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Inorganic salts of sulfuric acid.

The Arctic Ocean and the lands in it and adjacent to it. It includes Point Barrow, Alaska, most of the Franklin District in Canada, two thirds of Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Lapland, Novaya Zemlya, and Northern Siberia. (Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p66)

The enrichment of a terrestrial or aquatic ECOSYSTEM by the addition of nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, that results in a superabundant growth of plants, ALGAE, or other primary producers. It can be a natural process or result from human activity such as agriculture runoff or sewage pollution. In aquatic ecosystems, an increase in the algae population is termed an algal bloom.

Ribonucleic acid in bacteria having regulatory and catalytic roles as well as involvement in protein synthesis.

Pollutants, present in water or bodies of water, which exhibit radioactivity.

A group of the proteobacteria comprised of facultatively anaerobic and fermentative gram-negative bacteria.

Industrial chemicals which have become widespread environmental pollutants. Each aroclor is a mixture of chlorinated biphenyls (1200 series) or chlorinated terphenyls (5400 series) or a combination of both (4400 series).

Substances which pollute the soil. Use for soil pollutants in general or for which there is no specific heading.

The flow of water in enviromental bodies of water such as rivers, oceans, water supplies, aquariums, etc. It includes currents, tides, and waves.

A major group of unsaturated cyclic hydrocarbons containing two or more rings. The vast number of compounds of this important group, derived chiefly from petroleum and coal tar, are rather highly reactive and chemically versatile. The name is due to the strong and not unpleasant odor characteristic of most substances of this nature. (From Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 12th ed, p96)

A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).

The spectrum of different living organisms inhabiting a particular region, habitat, or biotope.

Naturally occurring complex liquid hydrocarbons which, after distillation, yield combustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants.

Liquid water present beneath the surface of the earth.

An area of water mostly surrounded by land, usually smaller than a gulf, and affording access to the sea.

Chemical groups containing the covalent sulfur bonds -S-. The sulfur atom can be bound to inorganic or organic moieties.

Organic matter in a state of advanced decay, after passing through the stages of COMPOST and PEAT and before becoming lignite (COAL). It is composed of a heterogenous mixture of compounds including phenolic radicals and acids that polymerize and are not easily separated nor analyzed. (E.A. Ghabbour & G. Davies, eds. Humic Substances, 2001).

The study of the origin, structure, development, growth, function, genetics, and reproduction of organisms which inhabit the OCEANS AND SEAS.

A nonmetallic element with atomic symbol C, atomic number 6, and atomic weight [12.0096; 12.0116]. It may occur as several different allotropes including DIAMOND; CHARCOAL; and GRAPHITE; and as SOOT from incompletely burned fuel.

The study of early forms of life through fossil remains.

Metals with high specific gravity, typically larger than 5. They have complex spectra, form colored salts and double salts, have a low electrode potential, are mainly amphoteric, yield weak bases and weak acids, and are oxidizing or reducing agents (From Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

A kingdom in the domain ARCHAEA comprised of thermoacidophilic, sulfur-dependent organisms. The two orders are SULFOLOBALES and THERMOPROTEALES.

An order of amoeboid EUKARYOTES characterized by reticulating pseudopods and a complex life cycle with an alternation of generations. Most are less than 1mm in size and found in marine or brackish water.

A phylum of bacteria consisting of the purple bacteria and their relatives which form a branch of the eubacterial tree. This group of predominantly gram-negative bacteria is classified based on homology of equivalent nucleotide sequences of 16S ribosomal RNA or by hybridization of ribosomal RNA or DNA with 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA.

Organic, monobasic acids derived from hydrocarbons by the equivalent of oxidation of a methyl group to an alcohol, aldehyde, and then acid. Fatty acids are saturated and unsaturated (FATTY ACIDS, UNSATURATED). (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed)

The continent lying around the South Pole and the southern waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It includes the Falkland Islands Dependencies. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p55)

A family of colorless sulfur bacteria in the order Thiotrichales, class GAMMAPROTEOBACTERIA.

Procedures for identifying types and strains of bacteria. The most frequently employed typing systems are BACTERIOPHAGE TYPING and SEROTYPING as well as bacteriocin typing and biotyping.

The unconsolidated mineral or organic matter on the surface of the earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants.

Phenols substituted with one or more chlorine atoms in any position.