Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions
Despite being one of the largest microbial ecosystems on Earth, many basic open questions remain about how life exists and thrives in the deep subsurface biosphere. Much of this ambiguity is due to the fact that it is exceedingly difficult and often prohibitively expensive to directly sample the dee...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.998133/full |
| _version_ | 1828158812227371008 |
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| author | Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Peter H. Barry J. Maarten de Moor J. Maarten de Moor Gerdhard L. Jessen Gerdhard L. Jessen Matthew O. Schrenk Karen G. Lloyd |
| author_facet | Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Peter H. Barry J. Maarten de Moor J. Maarten de Moor Gerdhard L. Jessen Gerdhard L. Jessen Matthew O. Schrenk Karen G. Lloyd |
| author_sort | Donato Giovannelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite being one of the largest microbial ecosystems on Earth, many basic open questions remain about how life exists and thrives in the deep subsurface biosphere. Much of this ambiguity is due to the fact that it is exceedingly difficult and often prohibitively expensive to directly sample the deep subsurface, requiring elaborate drilling programs or access to deep mines. We propose a sampling approach which involves collection of a large suite of geological, geochemical, and biological data from numerous deeply-sourced seeps—including lower temperature sites—over large spatial scales. This enables research into interactions between the geosphere and the biosphere, expanding the classical local approach to regional or even planetary scales. Understanding the interplay between geology, geochemistry and biology on such scales is essential for building subsurface ecosystem models and extrapolating the ecological and biogeochemical roles of subsurface microbes beyond single site interpretations. This approach has been used successfully across the Central and South American Convergent Margins, and can be applied more broadly to other types of geological regions (i.e., rifting, intraplate volcanic, and hydrothermal settings). Working across geological spatial scales inherently encompasses broad temporal scales (e.g., millions of years of volatile cycling across a convergent margin), providing access to a framework for interpreting evolution and ecosystem functions through deep time and space. We propose that tectonic interactions are fundamental to maintaining planetary habitability through feedbacks that stabilize the ecosphere, and deep biosphere studies are fundamental to understanding geo-bio feedbacks on these processes on a global scale. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T23:50:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c7f886774bd944b994ec50673ace4dcc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-302X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T23:50:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c7f886774bd944b994ec50673ace4dcc2022-12-22T03:56:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2022-10-011310.3389/fmicb.2022.998133998133Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactionsDonato Giovannelli0Donato Giovannelli1Donato Giovannelli2Donato Giovannelli3Donato Giovannelli4Peter H. Barry5J. Maarten de Moor6J. Maarten de Moor7Gerdhard L. Jessen8Gerdhard L. Jessen9Matthew O. Schrenk10Karen G. Lloyd11Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, ItalyInstitute of Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies, National Research Council, CNR-IRBIM, Ancona, ItalyDepartment of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United StatesMarine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, United StatesEarth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, JapanMarine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, United StatesObservatorio Volcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica (OVSICORI), Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa RicaDepartment of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesInstituto de Ciencias Marinas y Limnológicas, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, ChileCenter for Oceanographic Research COPAS COASTAL, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile0Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States1Microbiology Department, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United StatesDespite being one of the largest microbial ecosystems on Earth, many basic open questions remain about how life exists and thrives in the deep subsurface biosphere. Much of this ambiguity is due to the fact that it is exceedingly difficult and often prohibitively expensive to directly sample the deep subsurface, requiring elaborate drilling programs or access to deep mines. We propose a sampling approach which involves collection of a large suite of geological, geochemical, and biological data from numerous deeply-sourced seeps—including lower temperature sites—over large spatial scales. This enables research into interactions between the geosphere and the biosphere, expanding the classical local approach to regional or even planetary scales. Understanding the interplay between geology, geochemistry and biology on such scales is essential for building subsurface ecosystem models and extrapolating the ecological and biogeochemical roles of subsurface microbes beyond single site interpretations. This approach has been used successfully across the Central and South American Convergent Margins, and can be applied more broadly to other types of geological regions (i.e., rifting, intraplate volcanic, and hydrothermal settings). Working across geological spatial scales inherently encompasses broad temporal scales (e.g., millions of years of volatile cycling across a convergent margin), providing access to a framework for interpreting evolution and ecosystem functions through deep time and space. We propose that tectonic interactions are fundamental to maintaining planetary habitability through feedbacks that stabilize the ecosphere, and deep biosphere studies are fundamental to understanding geo-bio feedbacks on these processes on a global scale.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.998133/fullsubsurface biospheregeosphere–biosphere coevolutiongeomicrobiologylarge-scalehot springs |
| spellingShingle | Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Donato Giovannelli Peter H. Barry J. Maarten de Moor J. Maarten de Moor Gerdhard L. Jessen Gerdhard L. Jessen Matthew O. Schrenk Karen G. Lloyd Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions Frontiers in Microbiology subsurface biosphere geosphere–biosphere coevolution geomicrobiology large-scale hot springs |
| title | Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions |
| title_full | Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions |
| title_fullStr | Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions |
| title_short | Sampling across large-scale geological gradients to study geosphere–biosphere interactions |
| title_sort | sampling across large scale geological gradients to study geosphere biosphere interactions |
| topic | subsurface biosphere geosphere–biosphere coevolution geomicrobiology large-scale hot springs |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.998133/full |
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