IGERT: Earth's Subsurface Biosphere: Coupling of Microbial, Geophysical and Geochemical Processes

生物圈通常被认为是地球表面附近的植物和动物，但地球的可居住区延伸到数百或数千米的深处。地球的地下生物圈主要由细菌组成，这些细菌的总质量可能相当于近地表生物圈中所有生命的质量。 对地下生物圈的新兴研究可以解决主要的环境，农业和工业问题，并导致改善人类健康和繁荣的产品。 在这一领域取得成功的关键将是了解地下微生物学与地球的物理和化学环境和过程之间的联系。 这一认识适用于将有毒废物转化为无害的副产品、更安全的饮用水、提高采矿效率、增加威尔斯的石油流量、将核废物限制在储存设施中、改良土壤和作物、再利用动物和人类废物以及地球全球和地方化学循环的基础。为了让研究生为这些挑战做好准备，我们将协调国际公认的工程师，微生物学家，地质学家，海洋学家，地球化学家，土壤科学家和水文学家对学生的培训。 学生的准备将扩大与一个新的地下生物圈集成未成年人与五个相关的组成部分。其中包括：一组培训工作，从分子到全球范围的微生物与物理和化学过程联系的课程，以及国际和国家实习，实地项目和研讨会。 与地下科学，生物工程和环境相关的伦理和文化问题将包括在课程，研讨会和讲习班中。IGERT是一个旨在应对博士教育挑战的NSF范围内的计划。科学家和工程师与多学科背景和技术，专业和个人技能所需的未来的职业需求。该计划旨在通过建立新的，创新的研究生教育和培训模式，促进研究生教育的文化变革，为超越传统学科界限的合作研究创造肥沃的环境。在该计划的第四年，该奖项将颁发给22个机构，这些机构的计划共同涵盖了NSF支持的所有科学和工程领域。这个特殊奖项的知识焦点位于地球科学局;生物科学;工程;教育和人力资源;以及极地计划办公室。

The biosphere is usually thought of as plants and animals near the Earth's surface, but the Earth's habitable zone extends to depths of hundreds or thousands of meters. The Earth's subsurface biosphere is composed mostly of bacteria, and collectively these bacteria may have a mass equivalent to that of all life in the near-surface biosphere. The emerging study of the subsurface biosphere could solve major environmental, agricultural, and industrial problems, and lead to products that will improve human health and prosperity. The key to success in this field will be an understanding of the links between subsurface microbiology and the Earth's physical and chemical environments and processes. This understanding is applicable to the transformation of toxic waste into harmless byproducts, safer drinking water, increased mining efficiency, increased flow of oil from wells, confining nuclear waste in storage facilities, improving soil and crops, reutilization of animal and human wastes, and the basics the Earth's global and local chemical cycles. To prepare graduate students for these challenges we will coordinate the training of students by internationally recognized engineers, microbiologists, geologists, oceanographers, geochemists, soil scientists, and hydrologists. Students' preparation will be broadened with a new subsurface biosphere integrated minor with five related components. Some of these are: a group training effort, courses that link microbial with physical and chemical processes from molecular to global scales, and international and national internships, field programs, and symposia. Ethical and cultural issues related to subsurface science, bioengineering, and the environment will be included in courses, seminars and workshops.IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing new, innovative models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In the fourth year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-two institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. The intellectual foci of this specific award reside in the Directorates for Geosciences; Biological Sciences; Engineering; Education and Human Resources; and the Office of Polar Programs.