Biogeochemical Cycles of Carbon and Nitrogen in an Ice-Covered Volcanic Crater Lake

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0120435Biogeochemical Cycles of Carbon and Nitrogen in an Ice-Covered Volcanic Crater LakeProject DescriptionThis is a 1 year research planning and exploratory proposal to investigate the microbial ecology of and ice-covered crater lake within the active Grimsvotn Volcano in Iceland. The proposal anticpates that there is an active microbial community under the Grimsvotn ice-covered lake. Because of the simplicity of the biogeochemical environment and its isolation from other inputs other than volcanic and glacial, it is suggested to be an excellent location to pursue coupled biocomplexity studies. The proposal will evaluate four hypotheses by sampling the lake through the ice using hot-water drilling equipment. Samples will be collected from different lake depths and examined using: microscopy, cultivation, stable isotopic analyses, molecular biological tools, C and N fixation assays, and phylogentic analysis of genes involved in N fixation.