University Calendar
Buried Alive: Life Beneath the Seafloor
It's Alive...
Roughly seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by marine sediment and oceanic crust. Microbes – bacteria, archaea, tiny eukaryotes, and viruses – are major players in these environments, cycling elements and eating carbon.
...Buried Alive!
The marine subsurface is a vast reservoir of life “buried alive” on Earth, yet we don’t fully understand how all of the microbes get their energy to grow, or the full impact of their activity on chemical cycling.
Dr. Beth Orcutt - Tracking Microbial Growth
The Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, with support from the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, will host Dr. Beth Orcutt, Senior Research Scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and a 2014-2015 Consortium for Ocean Leadership Distinguished Lecturer.
Dr. Orcutt has developed novel incubation devices that are deployed in sub-seafloor observatories to track microbial growth and will present an overview of some of the exciting microbiological, geochemical, and ocean exploration research being conducted within the International Ocean Discovery Program and other deep-sea science programs.
Photograph shows crew members on the drill ship JOIDES Resolution preparing to install a sub seafloor observatory. Image courtesy of Integrated Ocean Drilling Program/U.S. Implementing Organization.