Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI)

暗能量生物圈研究中心（Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations，C-DEBI）是美国国家科学基金会的科学技术中心，致力于解决海底下的范围、功能、动力学和影响。地球的“深层生物圈”包括地球上各种各样的地下栖息地，如大陆上的矿山、含水层和土壤，以及海底以下的沉积物和火成岩。据估计，地球上总生物量的近一半存在于深层生物圈中。由于技术障碍，对地下生物圈地点的检查仅限于相对较少的几个地点，而且只进行浅钻。这些限制阻碍了对生物圈的深入研究，使数据集偏向环境可及性，并妨碍了更准确的全球人口普查的发展。最大的潜在地下生物群落也是最难进入的：海底以下生物圈，据估计，地球上三分之一的生物量存在于火成洋壳和沉积物这两种环境中。今天，我们对这些地下微生物群落的生物体或这个独特生物圈内的关键非生物和生物过程知之甚少。然而，对地下地球和生物的关注正在增加，过去十年来，可用于采样、监测和实验的技术有了显著改善。智力优势：该中心将为一个大型的多学科科学家小组提供一个框架，以探讨地球地下环境深处生命的基本问题。C-DEBI的基本科学问题涉及探索和发现，揭示限制海洋下的次表层生物圈的过程，以及对地球系统的影响。在这个深层生物圈中存在着什么类型的生命，有多少，以及它们是如何分布和分散的？促进或限制生命的物理化学条件是什么？什么是重要的氧化还原过程，它们对人类来说是独特的还是重要的？生物圈如何影响全球能源和物质循环，特别是碳循环？最后，我们能否辨别这些生命是如何在海底的地质环境中进化的，以及这与我们星球上生命起源的想法有何关系？该中心将由一个世界级的研究团队领导，他们为研究的知识和技术挑战带来了不同的学科基础：Katrina Edwards博士（南加州大学）; Andrew Fisher（加州大学，圣克鲁斯），James Cowen（夏威夷大学，马诺阿），Steve D 'Hondt（罗得岛大学）和Jeff Wheat（阿拉斯加大学，费尔班克斯）。这些领导者及其在中心的大量合作者带来了分子生物学、微生物生态学、水文地球物理学、微生物地球化学、地质学、沉积物和热液地球化学、建模、理论和技术/仪器开发方面的专业知识。更广泛的影响：C-DEBI将开发研究这一领域的新技术和概念模型;培养和教育跨学科的科学家，他们将定义和追求这门科学的未来，并激发公众的兴趣;并与国际海洋钻探企业：综合海洋钻探计划进行有效的对接。研究和教育，国家和国际项目的协调和整合，以及观测系统和实验技术的开发和部署将是该中心的重点。C-DEBI将加速PI，博士后，研究生和本科生之间的跨学科合作，以揭示深层生物圈的性质和重要性。该中心将培训本科生和研究生，并在各机构提供奖学金支持。现有课程和新课程将使用C-DEBI科学来教授有关地球系统和在深层生物圈中发现的不同生命形式的基础知识。公共讲座，博物馆展览和海上科学活动将被用来告知和激发公众对他们的世界。C-DEBI将培训教师，并大力投资于扩大那些在我们国家从事科学和技术职业的人的多样性。该中心将利用现有的教育，推广和培训计划的多样性，从K-8通过本科生课程，在所有合作机构，以帮助吸引代表性不足的群体科学，该中心将直接从事少数民族服务的州立大学和社区学院，以应对这一挑战。 牵头机构是该国最多样化的校园之一，合作机构在吸引西班牙裔，非洲裔美国人，夏威夷土著人和太平洋岛民以及美洲土著人方面做好了准备。 C-DEBI科学家小组在最近的过去一直在支持研究生课程中的性别多样性方面表现出色，首席调查员所在的部门单位也是如此。C-DEBI将专门针对妇女在科学领域的职业发展，以及海洋科学领域的妇女招聘。 调查人员在吸引西班牙裔和美洲土著学生方面有着良好的记录。

Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) - A NSF Science and Technology Center for resolving the extent, function, dynamics and implications of the sub-seafloor. The Earth's "deep biosphere" includes a variety of sub-surface habitats on Earth, such as mines, aquifers, and soils on the continents, and the sediments and igneous rock below the ocean floor. It is estimated that nearly half of the total biomass on Earth resides in the deep biosphere. Technological hurdles have limited examination of the sub-surface biosphere sites to relatively few locations and only shallow drilling. These limits have hindered deep biosphere research, skewing data sets towards environmental accessibility, and precluding the development of a more accurate global census. The largest potential subsurface biome is also the least accessible: the sub-seafloor biosphere which is estimated to harbor one third of all biomass on Earth in the two environments of igneous ocean crust and sediments. Today, we know far too little about the organisms of these sub-surface microbial communities or the critical abiotic and biotic processes within this unique biosphere. However, attention to the sub-surface Earth and biology, is increasing, and the technologies available for sampling, monitoring, and experiments has dramatically improved in the last decade. Intellectual Merit: This Center will provide a framework for a large, multi-disciplinary group of scientists to pursue fundamental questions about life deep in the sub-surface environment of Earth. The fundamental science questions of C-DEBI involve exploration and discovery, uncovering the processes that constrain the sub-surface biosphere below the oceans, and implications to the Earth system. What type of life exists in this deep biosphere, how much, and how is it distributed and dispersed? What are the physical-chemical conditions that promote or limit life? What are the important oxidation-reduction processes and are they unique or important to humankind? How does this biosphere influence global energy and material cycles, particularly the carbon cycle? Finally, can we discern how such life evolved in geological settings beneath the ocean floor, and how this might relate to ideas about the origin of life on our planet? This Center will be led by a world-class team of investigators who bring different disciplinary foundations for the intellectual and technical challenges of the research: Drs. Katrina Edwards (University of Southern California); Andrew Fisher (University California, Santa Cruz), James Cowen (University of Hawai'i, Manoa), Steve D'Hondt (University of Rhode Island), and Jeff Wheat (University of Alaska, Fairbanks). These leaders, with their large group of collaborators in the Center, bring expertise in molecular biology, microbial ecology, hydro-geophysics, microbial biogeochemistry, geology, sediment and hydrothermal geochemistry, modeling, theory, and technology/instrument development.Broader Impacts: C-DEBI will develop new technologies and conceptual models for studying this realm; to train and educate the interdisciplinary scientists who will define and pursue the future of this science and excite the public; and to interface efficiently with the international ocean drilling enterprise: the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Coordination and integration of the research an education, the national and international projects, and the development and deployment of observing systems and experimental technology will be a strong focus of the Center. C-DEBI will accelerate interdisciplinary collaboration between PIs, post-docs, graduate and undergraduate students to uncover the nature and importance of the deep biosphere. The Center will train undergraduate and graduate students and provide fellowship support across the institutions. Existing courses and new ones will use C-DEBI science to teach fundamental knowledge about Earth systems and different life forms discovered in the deep biosphere. Public lectures, museum exhibits, and science-at-sea activities will be employed to inform and excite the public about their world. C-DEBI will train teachers and invest significantly in broadening the diversity of those who pursue science and technology careers in our nation. The Center will use the diversity of existing education, outreach and training programs, from K-8 through under-graduate programs, at all partnership institutions to help attract under-represented groups to science, and the Center will directly engage minority serving state universities and community colleges to meet this challenge. The lead institution is one of the most diverse campuses in the country, and partner institutions variously are well poised with regard to attracting Hispanics, African Americans, Native Hawai'ians and Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans. The C-DEBI group of scientists has been excellent in supporting gender diversity in graduate programs in the recent past, as do the departmental units in which the lead investigators sit. C-DEBI will specifically target career advancement for women in science, and the recruitment of women into ocean sciences. The investigators have a good record with regard to attracting Hispanic and Native American students at this level.