CAREER: Microbial Geochemistry of Natural Marine Gas Seeps - A Research and Education Plan

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ABSTRACTValentine / OCE-0447395In this CAREER project, a researcher at the University of California at Santa Barbara will conduct an integrated research and education program focusing on the fate of methane seeping naturally into the marine environment, an issue of environmental and economic relevance. The primary research goal is to determine the impact of microbial methane oxidation on the flux of methane from the sediments to the ocean/atmosphere in areas of active gas seepage. The research will involve a combination of field and laboratory studies of three gas seep environments located offshore the UCSB campus, at depths ranging from 10m to 300m. The primary research goal will be achieved by quantifying both the net gas flux emanating from the sediment as well as the net rate of microbial methane oxidation within the sediment, and comparing the relative importance of each process across the three study sites. This proposal further seeks to integrate the proposed research with educational activities at the graduate, undergraduate, and K-12 levels.The educational goals of the proposed project are: (1) to train graduate (Ph.D. & M.S.) students in the integrated study of microbiology and geochemistry; (2) to educate undergraduate students in the marine sciences through year-long research projects, and through incorporation of results into general education courses; (3) to incorporate undergraduate students into ocean going research by including them as active participants in proposed cruises through a formal field studies course; and (4) to introduce K-12 students and teachers to the topic of marine hydrocarbons through participation in UCSB's Floating Lab outreach program. These educational goals of this project will be achieved by incorporating graduate and undergraduate students into every stage of the research project, by incorporating results into general education courses, and through outreach activities that will bring approximately one thousand K-12 students to local seep fields annually. The massive gas seeps offshore UCSB provide an ideal natural laboratory for a CAREER project. Seeps are readily accessible from the campus, they engender curiosity in students, they have a tangible environmental impact, and the underlying microbial processes are important yet poorly understood.Broader Impacts: This project promises to contribute fundamental knowledge to the global biogeochemical cycle of methane, to provide interdisciplinary training for graduate students in chemical and biological aspects of ocean science, to provide educational opportunities for undergraduate students in the area of marine science, and to educate K-12 students and teachers through outreach activities. Furthermore, this research has the potential to reveal a variety of novel microbes and microbial activities, has potential applications in the field of bioremediation, and may lead to the discovery of new gas seep environments offshore California.