Microbiology of the Chicxulub Impact Crater

希克苏鲁伯撞击坑的微生物学

• 批准号: NE/P006736/1
• 负责人: Charles Cockell
• 金额: $ 2.43万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2016 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FP006736%2F1
• 关键词: Microbiology; Chicxulub; Impact; Crater

The deep subsurface is recognised to be an environment that supports a large and diverse microbial biosphere, and yet we still know very little about how microorganisms grow in this environment, what their spatial diversity is and how this diversity is controlled by subsurface geochemical conditions. Previous research has primarily focused on deep-ocean sediments. Work in these environments has shown that geochemical interfaces are important for determining the diversity of the subsurface biosphere. Little is known about how the subsurface biosphere in marine environments compares to that in continental subsurface environments.Our laboratory will acquire core samples collected from the peak ring of the 66 million-year old Chicxulub impact structure buried beneath the Gulf of Mexico in April-May 2016 during IODP Expedition 364. This end-Cretaceous impact structure is hypothesised to have been responsible for causing the extinction of the dinosaurs and ~75% of all other life at this time. The drill core will be retrieved with microbiological contamination control to ~1.5 km depth. Thus, the drill core offers the opportunity to investigate the subsurface microbiology of a continental site and also how the microbial diversity relates to a unique, but well-defined subsurface lithologic sequence. In this project we propose to use these cores to gain new insights into the diversity of microorganisms in the subsurface. In this project we will: 1) Quantify the biomass of microorganisms through the core and correlate it to the lithologies to understand how microbial life in the continental deep subsurface is influenced by lithology, 2) Specifically investigate how microbial abundance and diversity is correlated to impact lithologies to understand how impacts can disrupt the deep subsurface biosphere, 3) Culture and use '-omics' methods such as metagenomics to understand how the functional capabilities and metabolisms of organisms correlate to the environment and lithology through the core to gain a better understanding of microbial biogeochemical processes in the deep subsurface in general and specifically in an impact crater, 4) Use the above data to understand more generally how life recolonises impact craters and how craters might provide a habitat for life despite otherwise catastrophic effects on large surface dwelling life.

深层地下被认为是一个支持大型和多样化微生物生物圈的环境，但我们仍然对微生物如何在这种环境中生长，它们的空间多样性以及这种多样性如何受到地下地球化学条件的控制知之甚少。以前的研究主要集中在深海沉积物上。在这些环境中开展的工作表明，地球化学界面对于确定地下生物圈的多样性非常重要。海洋环境中的地下生物圈与大陆地下环境中的地下生物圈相比知之甚少。我们的实验室将在IODP Expedition 364期间于2016年4月至5月从墨西哥湾下埋藏的6600万年前的希克苏鲁布撞击结构的峰环中采集岩心样品。这个白垩纪末期的撞击构造被认为是导致恐龙灭绝和当时约75%的其他生命灭绝的原因。将在微生物污染控制下将岩芯回收至~1.5 km深度。因此，岩芯提供了一个机会，调查地下微生物的大陆网站，也如何微生物多样性涉及到一个独特的，但明确的地下岩性序列。在这个项目中，我们建议使用这些核心，以获得新的见解在地下微生物的多样性。在这个项目中，我们将：1）量化通过岩心的微生物生物量，并将其与岩性相关联，以了解大陆深层地下的微生物生命如何受到岩性的影响，2）具体调查微生物丰度和多样性如何与影响岩性相关联，以了解影响如何破坏深层地下生物圈，3）文化和使用“-组学的方法，如宏基因组学，以了解生物的功能能力和代谢如何与环境和岩性通过核心，以获得更好地了解微生物生物地球化学过程中深地下，4）使用上述数据更普遍地了解生命如何使撞击坑变得更小，以及撞击坑如何为生命提供栖息地，尽管对大型表面居住生命造成灾难性影响。

项目成果

Rock fluidization during peak-ring formation of large impact structures

大型冲击结构峰环形成过程中的岩石流化

• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0607-z
• 发表时间: 2018
• 期刊: Nature
• 影响因子: 64.8
• 作者: Riller;Poelchau;Schulte;Collins;Melosh;Grieve;Morgan;Gulick;McCall;N. Kring;IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party
• 通讯作者: IODP-ICDP Expedition 364 Science Party

Extraordinary rocks from the peak ring of the Chicxulub impact crater: P-wave velocity, density, and porosity measurements from IODP/ICDP Expedition 364

• DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.05.013
• 发表时间: 2018-08-01
• 期刊: EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
• 影响因子: 5.3
• 作者: Christeson, G. L.;Gulick, S. P. S.;Yamaguchi, K. E.
• 通讯作者: Yamaguchi, K. E.