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- Hinrichs Lab - MARUM-GB2
Hinrichs Lab - MARUM-GB2
MARUM - GB2: Biogeochemical processes fueling sub-seafloor life: transformations of C, S, and Fe
| Duration: | November 2012 - October 2017 |
| 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, Frauke Schmidt |
| Partners: | Michael Friedrich (Universität Bremen), Timothy Ferdelman (Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie/MARUM, Bremen), Boris Koch (Alfred-Wegener-Institut/MARUM, Bremerhaven), Sabine Kasten (MARUM/Universität Bremen), J.M. Mogollon (MARUM), Matthias Zabel (MARUM/Universität Bremen) |
| International partner(s): | Yu-Shih Lin (National Sun-Yat-Sen University, Taiwan) |
Abstract
Sub-seafloor sediments harbor a substantial fraction of Earth’s biomass in the form of poorly explored microbial communities. These microbial communities mediate cycles of C, S, Fe, P, and N and influence the chemical speciation of these elements in the ocean. While microbial activity in shallow sediments is mainly controlled by the availability of organic matter and/or dissolved electron acceptors, other, so far unidentified factors appear to impact the activity of the sub-seafloor biosphere. This project seeks to better constrain key biogeochemical mechanisms in the sub-seafloor. To this end, we investigate how sub-seafloor microbes use particle-bound metal oxides for respiration. We want to find out if they can transform complex organic matter into low-molecular-weight compounds that serve as microbial substrates. And we are particularly interested in reactive sulfur species that might play a role for the deep biosphere due to the mechanisms by which they interact with Fe and organic matter.
Sub-seafloor sediments harbor a substantial fraction of Earth’s biomass in the form of poorly explored microbial communities. These microbial communities mediate cycles of C, S, Fe, P, and N and influence the chemical speciation of these elements in the ocean. While microbial activity in shallow sediments is mainly controlled by the availability of organic matter and/or dissolved electron acceptors, other, so far unidentified factors appear to impact the activity of the sub-seafloor biosphere. This project seeks to better constrain key biogeochemical mechanisms in the sub-seafloor. To this end, we investigate how sub-seafloor microbes use particle-bound metal oxides for respiration. We want to find out if they can transform complex organic matter into low-molecular-weight compounds that serve as microbial substrates. And we are particularly interested in reactive sulfur species that might play a role for the deep biosphere due to the mechanisms by which they interact with Fe and organic matter.
The project is following up MARUM GB3.