EarthRef.org Digital Archive (ERDA) -- CARD-FISH approaches for characterizing endolithic rock-hosted microbial populations

Description
In this keynote presentation for the First SBN Workshop Katrina Edwards discusses the process of basalt-weathering as promoted by endolithic microbes that colonize volcanic rocks at seamounts and on the flanks of mid-ocean ridge spreading centers at and below the seafloor. She hypothesizes that the activities of autotrophic Fe- and S-oxidizing prokaryotes play important roles in the initial colonization and weathering of ocean crust. This process results in (1) the development of sharp redox gradients associated with seafloor-exposed surfaces, or subseafloor surfaces exposed to recirculating fluids along fractures, and (2) a flux of fresh organic C to ridge flanks that may be used for respiration by endolithic heterotrophic (including Fe- and S-reducing) prokaryote communities. The objectives of these kind of studies are to define this succession on basalt during the aging/weathering process, and to identify and quantify key constituents of these communities and understand the physical and mineralogical associations between microbes and dissolution features and secondary weathering products.

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.