Metabolic Activity of Subsurface Life in Deep-Sea Sediments

Dhondt, Steven; Rutherford, Scott; Spivack, Arthur J.

doi:10.1126/science.1064878

Cited by 499 publications

(400 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The planned drilling specifically addresses fundamental questions identified in the IODP Science Plan (https://www.iodp.org/about-iodp/iodp-science-plan-2013-2023) regarding Biosphere Frontiers, Earth Connections, and Earth in Motion: The processes controlling fluid flow and a deep biosphere are intimately linked, and over the past years many studies have concentrated on understanding sedimentary or volcanic systems with high-temperature discharge or on areas of diffuse flow in volcanic units (D'Hondt et al, 2002(D'Hondt et al, , 2004Shipboard Scientific Party, 2003;Expedition 301 Scientists, 2005;Nakagawa et al, 2006;Lipp et al, 2008;Parkes et al, 2005;Biddle et al, 2006;Hinrichs et al, 2006;Inagaki et al, 2006;Huber et al, 2002Huber et al, , 2003. In contrast, the spatial scale of lithologic variability between mafic and ultramafic seafloor at slow-spreading ridges, the implications for fluid flow paths and fluxes, and the subsurface ecosystems supported by these systems remain almost completely unconstrained.…”

Section: Alignment With the Iodp Science Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

Früh-Green¹,

Orcutt²,

Green³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program

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Contents AbstractInternational Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 357 successfully cored an east-west transect across the southern wall of Atlantis Massif on the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) to study the links between serpentinization processes and microbial activity in the shallow subsurface of highly altered ultramafic and mafic sequences that have been uplifted to the seafloor along a major detachment fault zone. The primary goals of this expedition were to (1) examine the role of serpentinization in driving hydrothermal systems, sustaining microbial communities, and sequestering carbon; (2) characterize the tectonomagmatic processes that lead to lithospheric heterogeneities and detachment faulting; and (3) assess how abiotic and biotic processes change with variations in rock type and progressive exposure on the seafloor. To accomplish these objectives, we developed a coring and sampling strategy centered on the use of seabed drills-the first time that such systems have been used in the scientific ocean drilling programs. This technology was chosen in the hope of achieving high recovery of the carbonate cap sequences and intact contact and deformation relationships. The expedition plans also included several engineering developments to assess geochemical parameters during drilling; sample bottom water before, during, and after drilling; supply synthetic tracers during drilling for contamination assessment; acquire in situ electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements for assessing fractures, fluid flow, and extent of serpentinization; and seal boreholes to provide opportunities for future experiments.Seventeen holes were drilled at nine sites across Atlantis Massif, with two sites on the eastern end of the southern wall (Sites M0068 and M0075), three sites in the central section of the southern wall north of the Lost City hydrothermal field (Sites M0069, M0072, and M0076), two sites on the western end (Sites M0071 and M0073), and two sites north of the southern wall in the direction of the central dome of the massif and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1309 (Sites M0070 and M0074). Use of seabed drills enabled collection of more than 57 m of core, with borehole penetration ranging from 1.30 to 16.44 meters below seafloor and core recoveries as high as 74.76% of total penetration. This high level of recovery of shallow mantle sequences is unprecedented in the history of ocean drilling. The cores recovered along the southern wall of Atlantis Massif have highly heterogeneous lithologies, types of alteration, and degrees of deformation. The ultramafic rocks are dominated by harzburgites with intervals of dunite and minor pyroxenite veins, as well as gabbroic rocks occurring as melt impregnations and veins, all of which provide information about early magmatic processes and the magmatic evolution in the southernmost portion of Atlantis Massif. Dolerite dikes and basaltic rocks represent the latest stage of magmatic activity. Overall, the ultramafic rocks recovered ...

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Section: Alignment With the Iodp Science Planmentioning

confidence: 99%

Untitled

Früh-Green¹,

Orcutt²,

Green³

et al. 2017

Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program

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“…Marine scientists and the petroleum industry rapidly recognized that phylogenetically diverse anaerobic sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) are crucial for the degradation of organic matter in terrestrial and aquatic subsurface environments (Bastin et al 1926;Jørgensen 1982;Magot et al 2000;D´Hondt et al 2002;Sass and Cypionka 2004) by using sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor, thereby producing hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S). Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic and corrosive gas that leads to a variety of environmental and economic problems, including reservoir souring, corrosion of metal surfaces, and the plugging of reservoirs due to the precipitation of metal sulfides (Magot et al 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal effects on microbial composition and microbiologically induced corrosion and mineral precipitation affecting operation of a geothermal plant in a deep saline aquifer

et al. 2013

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The microbial diversity of a deep saline aquifer used for geothermal heat storage in the North German Basin was investigated. Genetic fingerprinting analyses revealed distinct microbial communities in fluids produced from the cold and warm side of the aquifer. Direct cell counting and quantification of 16S rRNA genes and dissimilatory sulfite reductase (dsrA) genes by real-time PCR proved different population sizes in fluids, showing higher abundance of bacteria and sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) in cold fluids compared with warm fluids. The operation-dependent temperature increase at the warm well probably enhanced organic matter availability, favoring the growth of fermentative bacteria and SRB in the topside facility after the reduction of fluid temperature. In the cold well, SRB predominated and probably accounted for corrosion damage to the submersible well pump, and iron sulfide precipitates in the near wellbore area and topside facility filters. This corresponded to lower sulfate content in fluids produced from the cold well as well as higher content of hydrogen gas that was probably released from corrosion, and maybe favored growth of hydrogenotrophic SRB. This study reflects the high influence of microbial populations for geothermal plant operation, because microbiologically induced precipitative and corrosive processes adversely affect plant reliability.2

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“…Moreover, virtual all organic matter delivered to the sediments is respired in the top few decimeters so that little organic matter is buried. Nevertheless it is sufficient to support a large number (3.5 × 10 30 ) and high biomass (25 Pmol C) of prokaryotic cells in subsurface oceanic sediments (Whitman et al 1998) that appear to be metabolically active (D'Hondt et al 2002). The global organic carbon burial, recently estimated at 13 Tmol C a −1 (range 11-18 Tmol C a −1 ; Hedges and Keil 1995) represents only a fraction (4-9%) of global sedimentary mineralization (190 Tmol C a −1 , Jørgensen 1983; 220 Tmol C a −1 , Smith and Hollibaugh, 1993;140-260 Tmol C a −1 , Middelburg et al 1997; 210 Tmol C a −1 , Andersson et al 2004).…”

Section: Benthic Respiration In the Dark Oceanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Respiration in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of the oceans

Arı́stegui¹,

Agustı́²,

Middelburg³

et al. 2005

Respiration in Aquatic Ecosystems

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OutlineIn this chapter the mechanisms of transport and remineralization of organic matter in the dark water-column and sediments of the oceans are reviewed. We compare the different approaches to estimate respiration rates, and discuss the discrepancies obtained by the different methodologies. Finally, a respiratory carbon budget is produced for the dark ocean, which includes vertical and lateral fluxes of organic matter. In spite of the uncertainties inherent in the different approaches to estimate carbon fluxes and oxygen consumption in the dark ocean, estimates vary only by a factor of 1.5. Overall, direct measurements of respiration, as well as indirect approaches, converge to suggest a total dark ocean respiration of 1.5-1.7 Pmol C a −1 . Carbon mass balances in the dark ocean suggest that the dark ocean receives 1.5-1.6 Pmol C a −1 , similar to the estimated respiration, of which >70% is in the form of sinking particles. Almost all the organic matter (∼92%) is remineralized in the water column, the burial in sediments accounts for <1%. Mesopelagic (150-1000 m) respiration accounts for ∼70% of dark ocean respiration, with average integrated rates of 3-4 mol C m −2 a −1 , 6-8 times greater than in the bathypelagic zone (∼0.5 mol C m −2 a −1 ). The results presented here renders respiration in the dark ocean a major component of the carbon flux in the biosphere, and should promote research in the dark ocean, with the aim of better constraining the role of the biological pump in the removal and storage of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

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Metabolic Activity of Subsurface Life in Deep-Sea Sediments

Cited by 499 publications

References 21 publications

Untitled

Untitled

Thermal effects on microbial composition and microbiologically induced corrosion and mineral precipitation affecting operation of a geothermal plant in a deep saline aquifer

Respiration in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones of the oceans

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