GEOC 136 |
| Katrina J. Edwards, Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Geomicrobiology Group, 360 Woods Hole Rd, Woods Hole, MA 02543 |
| The balance of the major global biogeochemical cycles is anchored on the transformation of Earth materials at or near its surface. The formation and degradation of rocks, minerals, and organic matter are pivotal for this balance. It has long been recognized that microorganisms play a critical role in transformation rates, pathways, and end products of rock transformations. While most of Earth’s crust is oceanic rather than terrestrial, few studies have been conducted on ocean crust transformations, particularly those mediated by endolithic microbial communities – those harbored on the surfaces and within seafloor rocks. I will present recent studies (phylogenetic, physiologic, laboratory dissolution) that elucidate a role for endolithic, neutrophilic, autotrophic Fe-oxidizing in weathering seafloor rocks. These data establish quantitative linkages between rock-weathering, Fe-oxidation, and carbon fixation, and suggest a role for Fe-oxidizing bacteria as a trophic base for endolithic seafloor and sub-seafloor microbial communities. |
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Microbially Mediated Manganese and Iron Oxidation in the Biosphere
8:00 AM-12:15 PM, Wednesday, March 31, 2004 Marriott -- Marquis NE, Oral
Division of Geochemistry |