Page path:
- Organic Geochemistry
- Projects
- Hinrichs Lab - MARUM-F
Hinrichs Lab - MARUM-F
MARUM - F: Geofuel cycling and fingerprinting
| Duration: | 2007 - 2012 |
| Funding: | Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) DFG-Research Center/Excellence Cluster "The Ocean in the Earth System" (MARUM) |
| Principal Investigator(s): | Kai-Uwe Hinrichs |
| Involved scientists in the Hinrichs Lab: | Marcus Elvert, Verena Heuer, Matthias Kellermann |
| Partners: | Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Bach (MARUM/Universität Bremen), Dr. Nicole Dubilier (Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie/MARUM, Bremen) |
Abstract
This project combines organic geochemical and isotopic techniques to address questions regarding the origin, fate, and quantities of organic fluid components, minerals, and the carbon flow in hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Through the analysis of fluid components and minerals in both environmental samples and hydrothermal experiments, strong links exist with other MARUM projects dealing with hydrothermal processes (e.g. MARUM-GB 7). A second focus of the project involves the study of microbial lipid biomarkers in hydrothermal environments. Through a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and isotopic analysis of these compounds, we extract information on the composition, quantity, and carbon sources of microbial biomass.
Key questions being addressed are:
What is the origin and fate of low-molecular-weight organic compounds in various hydrothermal-vent settings?
What are the carbon sources of the dominant prokaryotes in various hydrothermal-vent ecosystems?
What is the role of Fe and S cycling in hydrothermal vent systems?
Methods: Analyses of the distribution and isotopic compositions of organic compounds in hydrothermal fluids and rocks enable tracing the flow of carbon in hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Two sets of compounds are relevant: intact cell membrane molecules representative of biomass, and dissolved organic compounds that are products of either microbial metabolism or abiogenic synthesis under hydrothermal conditions. The techniques for the structural and isotopic analysis of both sets of compounds were developed and are continuously being improved in the Hinrichs Lab. Application of these protocols enable us to place constraints on the carbon sources utilized by free-living and symbiotic vent microbes, the source and fate of dissolved organic compounds, i.e., potential substrates and/or products of microbial metabolism.
This project combines organic geochemical and isotopic techniques to address questions regarding the origin, fate, and quantities of organic fluid components, minerals, and the carbon flow in hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Through the analysis of fluid components and minerals in both environmental samples and hydrothermal experiments, strong links exist with other MARUM projects dealing with hydrothermal processes (e.g. MARUM-GB 7). A second focus of the project involves the study of microbial lipid biomarkers in hydrothermal environments. Through a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and isotopic analysis of these compounds, we extract information on the composition, quantity, and carbon sources of microbial biomass.
Key questions being addressed are:
What is the origin and fate of low-molecular-weight organic compounds in various hydrothermal-vent settings?
What are the carbon sources of the dominant prokaryotes in various hydrothermal-vent ecosystems?
What is the role of Fe and S cycling in hydrothermal vent systems?
Methods: Analyses of the distribution and isotopic compositions of organic compounds in hydrothermal fluids and rocks enable tracing the flow of carbon in hydrothermal vent ecosystems. Two sets of compounds are relevant: intact cell membrane molecules representative of biomass, and dissolved organic compounds that are products of either microbial metabolism or abiogenic synthesis under hydrothermal conditions. The techniques for the structural and isotopic analysis of both sets of compounds were developed and are continuously being improved in the Hinrichs Lab. Application of these protocols enable us to place constraints on the carbon sources utilized by free-living and symbiotic vent microbes, the source and fate of dissolved organic compounds, i.e., potential substrates and/or products of microbial metabolism.