Dr. Keir Becker, University of Miami |
An
international team of scientists report on the first observatory
experiment to study the dynamic microbial life of an ever-changing
environment inside Earth’s crust. University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel
School of Marine and Atmospheric Science professor Keir Becker
contributed the deep-sea technology required to make long-term
scientific observations of life beneath the seafloor.
During
the four-year subsurface experiment, the research team deployed the
first in situ experimental microbial observatory systems below the flank
of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, which is located off the coast of Washington
(U.S.) and British Columbia (Canada).
Becker
and UM Rosenstiel alumnus Andrew Fisher installed the sub-surface
observatory technology known as CORK (Circulation Obviation Retrofit
Kit), which seals the sub-surface borehole for undisturbed observations
of the natural hydrogeological state and microbial ecosystem inside
Earth’s crust.
“Similar
to a cork in a wine bottle, our technology stops fluids from moving in
and out of the drilling hole,” said Becker, a UM Rosenstiel School
professor of marine geology and geophysics. “Ocean water is blocked from entering the hole and flushing out the natural system.”
These natural laboratories allow scientists to investigate the hydrogeology, geochemistry, and microbiology of ocean crust.
A
large reservoir of seawater exists in Earth’s crust, which is thought
to be the largest habitat on Earth. This seawater aquifer supports a
dynamic microbial ecosystem that is known to eat hydrocarbons and
natural gas, and may have the genetic potential to store carbon.
Scientists are interested in better understanding the natural processes
taking place below the seafloor, which also give rise to economically
important ores along the seafloor and may play a role in earthquakes.
“The paper is important since it is the first in-situ experiment to study subsurface microbiology,” said Becker, a co-author of the paper.
The
History Channel program, “Journey To The Earth’s Core,” which aired
last month discusses the ongoing research of Becker, UM Rosenstiel
School Ph.D. candidate Katherine Inderbitzen, UM alumnus and Expedition
Co-Chief Scientist Andy Fisher and more than 20 other scientists and
educators from around the world aboard the scientific ocean drilling
vessel JOIDES Resolution. The eight-week Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) expedition installed two new subseafloor CORKs.
The
research paper, “Colonization of subsurface microbial observatories
deployed in young ocean crust”, was published in the April issue of Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology, a publication of the journal Nature.
The
paper’s co-authors include Becker, Beth Orcutt and Katrina Edwards from
the University of Southern California, Wolfgang Bach and Michael
Hentscher from University of Bremen in Germany, Andrew Fisher from the
University of California Santa Cruz, Brandy Toner from University of
Minnesota and C. Geoffrey Wheat from the University of Alaska.
