Microbial Contribution to the Removal of Mn from the Deep Sea: Extended Hydrothermal Vent Plumes

本研究将评估微生物在扩展热液喷口柱附近清除和去除锰的作用。计划在东北太平洋进行实地试验，以探测将Mn包装成颗粒的机制以及将这些颗粒输送到沉积物的机制。采样将基于这样的概念模型，即被封装的海洋细菌将锰包裹成颗粒，浮游动物吃掉这些颗粒，并将它们重新包装成大的粪便颗粒，这些粪便颗粒会迅速沉积到海底。生物和非生物除锰机制将通过代谢抑制剂的使用来区分。这项工作将增强我们对海水中过渡金属的去除，海水中生物过程在化学转化中的作用，以及热液喷口在地球化学金属循环中的作用的认识。

This research will evaluate the role of micro-organisms in the scavenging and removal of Mn in the vicinity of extended hydrothermal vent plumes. Field experiments in the northeast Pacific are planned to detect mechanisms for packaging Mn into particles and mechanisms for transporting these particles to the sediments. The sampling will be based on the conceptual model that capsuled marine bacteria package the Mn into parti- cles and that zooplankton graze the particles and repackage them in large fecal pellets that sediment rapidly to the sea floor. The biotic and abiotic Mn-removal mechanisms will be differentiated by the use of metabolic inhibitors. This work will enhance our understanding of the removal of transition- metals from seawater, our understanding of the role of biolo- gical processes in chemical transformations in seawater, and our understanding of the role of hydrothermal vents in geochemical metal cycling.