Subsurface Microbial Colonization at Mineral-Filled Veins in 2-Billion-Year-Old Mafic Rock from the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa
Yohey Suzuki,
Susan J. Webb,
Mariko Kouduka
et al.
Abstract:Recent advances in subsurface microbiology have demonstrated the habitability of multi-million-year-old igneous rocks, despite the scarce energy supply from rock-water interactions. Given the minimal evolution coupled with exceedingly slow metabolic rates in subsurface ecosystems, spatiotemporally stable igneous rocks can sustain microbes over geological time scales. This study investigated a 2-billion-year-old mafic rock in the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa, where ultradeep drilling is being executed… Show more
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