Beneath the terrain of Mauna Loa in Hawaii, the largest active volcano on the planet (United States Geological Survey, 2022), lies a maze of basaltic lava tubes that are home to uncharacterized microbial communities and novel species. This subsurface basaltic environment provides a unique environment for microbial life largely sheltered from the sun, wind, temperature fluctuations, plants, and animals. On Mauna Loa, lava tubes are coated in colorful secondary minerals, such as gypsum, thenardite, and calcite that form as a result of weathering (White, 2010). These mineral deposits can provide additional protection and substrates for life, including water and ions involved in their metabolisms (
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