Inhaltsbereich
Carbon and energy sources for deep sedimentary microbial habitats
With the finding of ubiquitous deep microbial life on Earth inevitably the question on the available carbon and energy sources for these microbial communities arises. The activation and usability of substrate sources from the sedimentary organic matter with increasing depth is, therefore, of specific interest when investigating deep microbial populations. Thus, this research topic will focus on the biotic and abiotic mediated substrate release from sedimentary organic matter and its substrate potential forming possible feedstock sources for the deep biosphere. In this context it is of specific interest to examine the interaction between the sedimentary organic matter, the pore water DOC and the microbial community. Sequential chemical degradation will be applied to different kind of organic matter with different geochemical maturity to characterize the chemical composition and substrate potential of the accessible organic material. Furthermore, the bioavailability of organic substrates released from the organic matter and of inorganic nutrients will be investigated.
Ongoing Projects:
- Evolution of methane cycle in the Siberian Arctic
- Seabed pockmarks in the Barents Sea
- The Mýtina maar /scouria Železna hůrka and the magmatically active CO2-degassing structure of Milhostov – Hartoušov in the western Eger Rift (Cooperation with University Leipzig, PhD study Tobias Nickschick, Duration: 2011-2014)
Specific Topics:
- Substrate provision/release from OM for deep microbial communities
- Interaction between OM (kerogen) / DOC in porewater / microbes
- Biotic and abiotic alteration processes (experiments, kinetics)
- Sequential chemical degradation of OM
- Bioavailability of organic substrates and inorganic nutrients
- Microbes in permafrost areas
- Deep microbial activity and the carbon cycle
- Deep Biosphere in situ test laboratory (Mýtina maar initiative) as an example for future ICDP deep biosphere drilling; Drilling campaign (cooperation of the sections 4.3, 4.5, 5.2) was pre-planned for 2013-15 (H. Kämpf, D. Wagner, J. Mingram).
New project proposal: