Collaborative Research: IODP Expedition 336 Objective Research: The deep biosphere of young and oxic oceanic crust

该提案涉及海洋钻探计划的一个基本目标，即帮助描述地球上最大、研究最少的生态系统之一，即埋在海底的火成岩地壳深层生物圈。IODP探险队336的主要科学目标尤其是调查大西洋中部海脊附近北塘地区玄武岩结壳中的微生物种群。研究样品是采自北塘地区约100米以下沉积物的风化多孔玄武岩。这项研究建议同时确定微生物种群的多样性(使用DNA)及其代谢活动(使用RNA)。皮？S将调查基底和水柱中微生物之间的关系，并确定深层基底微生物使用哪些代谢途径。这项研究还将为336次探险期间安装在海底底部的长期生物观测站提供基线数据。了解深层生物圈生命是新的IODP科学计划的一项主要内容，并对了解生命的极限具有影响。NSF资助的C-DEBI(暗能量生物圈调查中心)计划和深地科学院促进了K-12教育，并向广泛的技术和受欢迎的受众传播深层生物圈研究的结果。一名本科生将参与这项研究。

The proposal addresses a fundamental aim of the ocean drilling program, namely to help characterize one of the largest and least studied ecosystems on Earth, the deep biosphere of the igneous crust buried below the ocean floor. The principal scientific objective of IODP expedition 336 is, in particular, to investigate the microbial population in basaltic crust from the North Pond area near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The study samples are weathered and porous basalts taken from beneath ~100 m of sediment in the North Pond area. The study proposes to determine both the diversity of the microbe population (using DNA) and its metabolic activity (using RNA). The PI?s will investigate the relationship between microbes in the basement and those in the water column and determine which metabolic pathways are used by the deep basement microbes. The study will also provide baseline data for the long-term biological observatories installed in the sub-seafloor basement during expedition 336. Understanding deep biosphere life is a major thrust of the new IODP science plan and has implications for understanding the limits of life. The NSF-funded C-DEBI (Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations) program and Deep Earth Academy promote K-12 education and communicate the results of deep biosphere studies to broad technical and popular audience. An undergraduate student will be involved in the research.