BE/CBC: Geobiology and the Emergence of Terraced Architecture during Carbonate Mineralization

BE/CBC：地球生物学和碳酸盐矿化过程中梯田建筑的出现

• 批准号: 0221743
• 负责人: Bruce Fouke
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0221743&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CBC; Geobiology; Emergence; Terraced; Architecture

ABSTRACTObjectives and Methods: The goal of this proposal is to determine how the biodiversity and activity of specific living microbes and/or microbial communities are required to create the terraced architectures universally observed in high-temperature and low-temperature carbonate spring deposits. Results will provide a fundamental knowledge of microbe-water-mineral interactions during carbonate precipitation that are needed to more accurately reconstruct the history of microbial life on earth and other planets. This project advances the field of biocomplexity by combining geological studies, microbial rDNA and gene analyses and quantitative modeling to provide a detailed geobiological account of carbonate terrace formation. The integrated multidisciplinary research and educational aspects of this project meet a national need to train personnel for future geobiology and biocomplexity studies.The project is headed by a unique interdisciplinary research team with specific expertise in geology, microbiology, and physics. Project milestones include:1) performing in situ crystallization experiments to determine the form and chemistry of travertine deposited when the microbes have been UV-irradiated, a sterilization technique that will leave the other fundamental physical and chemical conditions of the spring drainage outflow relatively unchanged; 2) documenting associations between calcite crystal growth form, distribution and chemistry with microbial form, diversity and metabolic activity; and 3)quantitative modeling of carbonate terrace formation using stochastic differential equations to describe the combined effects of geological and biological processes.Mammoth Hot Springs is the most appropriate natural laboratory in the world for conducting the proposed research. Although CO2 degassing and decreasing temperatures strongly influence the spring water chemistry, significant biological controls on travertine crystal form and isotope chemistry have recently been quantitatively documented.Mammoth Hot Springs uniquely offers:1) precipitation rates as high as 5 mm/day that allow short-duration in situ crystallization experiments in a regime of coupled biological and physical influences;2) the full spectrum of high-to low-temperature carbonate precipitates at one site;3) long-term familiarity of the study site by the PI 's who have all required research permits in hand; and 4)the only easily accessible hot spring complex in the world protected in its natural state.Intellectual Merit: The main question addressed is whether the presence of terraced carbonate architecture is prima facie evidence for the presence of microbial activity. Results from this study will permit the identification of microbiologically influenced crystallization in other modern and ancient high-temperature and low-temperature terraced carbonate spring deposits. The techniques employed in the quantitative modeling provide a first principles understanding of significant geological features from a physical and biological perspective. Of equal importance, the results from this study will establish a systematic and quantitative toolkit to identify microbial influence during carbonate deposition that can be used in a wide variety of other important terrestrial, marine, and burial environments on earth and other planets.Broader Impacts: This systems-level understanding of the interaction between biological and geological processes and resultant conceptual approaches will provide learning opportunities at all levels from postgraduate to K-12, as well as to the general public. The program to train personnel in biocomplexity studies will include undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs, international student exchange with the University of Siena in Italy, web-based curriculum development for Geobiology courses, and the development of a formal Geobiology program at Illinois. This project enhances public awareness of the need for biocomplexity studies through museum displays, brochures, and interpretive trail signs for the Canyon and Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor Centers in Yellowstone National Park, which will be seen and used by over 3 million park visitors each year.

摘要/ abstract摘要：目的和方法：本研究旨在确定在高温和低温碳酸盐温泉沉积中，特定活微生物和/或微生物群落的生物多样性和活性是如何形成梯田结构的。结果将提供碳酸盐沉淀过程中微生物-水-矿物相互作用的基本知识，这需要更准确地重建地球和其他行星上微生物生命的历史。该项目通过结合地质研究、微生物rDNA和基因分析以及定量建模，为碳酸盐阶地形成提供详细的地质生物学解释，推动了生物复杂性领域的发展。该项目的综合多学科研究和教育方面满足了国家培养未来地球生物学和生物复杂性研究人员的需要。该项目由一个独特的跨学科研究团队领导，他们在地质学、微生物学和物理学方面具有特殊的专业知识。项目里程碑包括：1)进行原位结晶实验，以确定微生物经过紫外线照射后沉积的石灰华的形态和化学性质，这种灭菌技术将使泉水排水流出物的其他基本物理和化学条件相对不变；2)方解石晶体生长形态、分布和化学性质与微生物形态、多样性和代谢活性之间的关系；3)利用随机微分方程对碳酸盐岩阶地形成进行定量建模，以描述地质和生物过程的联合效应。猛犸温泉是世界上最适合进行拟议研究的自然实验室。虽然CO2脱气和温度降低对泉水化学有强烈的影响，但生物对石灰华晶体形态和同位素化学的显著控制最近已被定量记录。猛犸温泉独特地提供：1)降水率高达5毫米/天，允许在生物和物理耦合影响下进行短时间的原位结晶实验；2)一个地点的高低温碳酸盐沉淀全谱；3) PI对研究地点的长期熟悉，并持有所有所需的研究许可证；4)世界上唯一一个自然保护的易接近的温泉群。学术价值：主要问题是，梯田碳酸盐结构的存在是否是微生物活动存在的初步证据。本研究结果将有助于在其他现代和古代高温和低温梯田碳酸盐岩温泉矿床中识别微生物影响的结晶。定量建模中使用的技术从物理和生物的角度提供了对重要地质特征的基本理解。同样重要的是，本研究的结果将建立一个系统和定量的工具包，以确定碳酸盐沉积过程中的微生物影响，该工具包可用于地球和其他行星上各种其他重要的陆地、海洋和埋藏环境。更广泛的影响：这种对生物和地质过程之间相互作用的系统级理解以及由此产生的概念方法将为从研究生到K-12的各个层次以及公众提供学习机会。培养生物复杂性研究人员的计划将包括本科生、研究生和博士后，与意大利锡耶纳大学的国际学生交换，地球生物学课程的网络课程开发，以及伊利诺斯州正式的地球生物学项目的开发。该项目通过黄石国家公园峡谷和猛犸温泉游客中心的博物馆展示、小册子和解释性步道标志，提高了公众对生物复杂性研究需求的认识，每年将有300多万公园游客参观和使用。