EarthRef.org Digital Archive (ERDA) -- Variability in microbial mat communities from the pre- and post-eruption Loihi volcano

Description
Loihi Seamount is an active submarine volcano that marks the southernmost extent of the Hawaiian hot-spot. Loihi rises over 3000 meters from the seafloor and summits nearly 1000 meters below sea level. Hydrothermal activity was discovered at Loihi in 1987, yielding diffuse vent effluent (Tmax ~37C) with associated high CO2 and Fe(II) concentrations and luxuriant microbial mats near the summit of the volcano. The Seamount erupted in 1996 forming a new 300m deep caldera (Pele's Pit) with hydrothermal venting up to 200̊C. Pele's Pit now contains multiple hydrothermal vents with hydrothermal fluids rang-ing from 8-65C with concentrations of Fe(II) between 50 and 750¿M. Community fingerprints from over 50 microbial mat samples collected from Loihi Seamount from 1993 to 2004, with temperatures ranging from ambient (4C) up to ~200C, were analyzed using cluster analysis of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLP) coupled with traditional clone library and sequence analysis. In this keynote presentation for the First SBN Workshop Craig Moyer show cases the spatial and temporal variabilities in the microbial communities as observed before and after an important volcanic episode at Loihi.

Project -- Meetings and Workshops -- SBN Workshops
The goal of the Seamount Biogeosciences Network (SBN) is to bring together all the diverse science disciplines involved in seamount research, to communicate about and discuss seamount science, and to explore innovative ways to network amongst the diverse communities working on seamounts.