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- Hinrichs Lab - C-Nankai
Hinrichs Lab - C-Nankai
C-Nankai: Molecular-isotopic studies of carbon turnover and microbial processes in an active subduction zone (NanTroSEIZE)
| Duration: | July 2008 - June 2011 |
| Funding: | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Schwerpunktprogramm 527 "Integrated Ocean Drilling Program/Ocean Drilling Program (IODP/ODP)" (Project HI 616/9-1 and HI 616/9-2) |
| Principal Investigator(s): | Kai-Uwe Hinrichs |
| Involved scientists in the Hinrichs Lab: | Verena Heuer |
| Partners: | Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bach (MARUM/Universität Bremen), Dr. Thorsten Dittmar (Max Planck Research Group - Marine Geochemistry, Carl-von-Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg), Prof. Dr. Kate Freeman (Pennsylvania State University, USA), Dr. Fumio Inagaki (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Japan), Dr. John Moreau (University of Melbourne, Australia), Dr. Yuki Morono (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Japan), Dr. Matthias Zabel (MARUM/Universität Bremen) |
Abstract
The IODP Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) is, for the first time, drilling and sampling the seismogenic portion of a convergent margin subduction zone. With this complex ocean drilling project that will be conducted over several years with multiple expeditions, scientists aim to better understand earthquake mechanisms. At the same time, NanTroSEIZE also provides unprecedented opportunities to study the impact of geological processes on the subsurface biosphere. In this project, we address two major questions and associated hypotheses: (1) how do fluid flow regimes governed by tectonic processes in the subduction zone impact biogeochemical processes in the subsurface? (2) Do substrates that are mobilized from recalcitrant organic matter by both biological and abiological processes at temperatures above ~50°C trigger elevated microbial activity? Solving these questions is ultimately relevant for an understanding of the fluxes and state of organic matter traveling into the “subduction factory”.
The IODP Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) is, for the first time, drilling and sampling the seismogenic portion of a convergent margin subduction zone. With this complex ocean drilling project that will be conducted over several years with multiple expeditions, scientists aim to better understand earthquake mechanisms. At the same time, NanTroSEIZE also provides unprecedented opportunities to study the impact of geological processes on the subsurface biosphere. In this project, we address two major questions and associated hypotheses: (1) how do fluid flow regimes governed by tectonic processes in the subduction zone impact biogeochemical processes in the subsurface? (2) Do substrates that are mobilized from recalcitrant organic matter by both biological and abiological processes at temperatures above ~50°C trigger elevated microbial activity? Solving these questions is ultimately relevant for an understanding of the fluxes and state of organic matter traveling into the “subduction factory”.