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REACTOR Theme 2: Deep biosphere and element cycling in sediments

REACTOR Theme 2 will study the geological, physical, chemical and biological factors that define the habitable zone within the ocean floor, as well as the interactions of subsurface microbial life with global element cycles. We will explore the downward extent of the deep biosphere within the ocean floor. We will examine how climate-controlled fluxes of iron-bearing minerals influence carbon cycling and microbial activity within the ocean floor. We will determine how vast subsurface methane reservoirs are formed by microbial degradation of sedimentary organic matter on geological timescales to reveal the deep biosphere’s role in the global carbon cycle.