Collaborative Research: Drilling Site Survey-Life in Subseafloor Sediments of the South Pacific Gyre

这一为期两年的项目侧重于描述南太平洋环流的海底和海底下的特征，作为国际海洋发展方案提议的现场调查活动的一部分，以钻探深海生物圈目标。 该项目将收集沉积物芯，并在南太平洋环流进行测深和地球物理调查，这是一种海洋学现象，包括一系列地质背景（例如，东太平洋海隆;南太平洋深海平面），并与有机碳埋藏率低和沉积物积累缓慢有关。 核心样品将被用来研究具有非常低的总活性的原核生物群落，并确定水辐解在多大程度上发挥作用，在这些碳贫乏的沉积物中的微生物过程提供电子供体。 研究人员将与德国科学家就该项目的许多深层生物圈目标进行密切合作。 该项目直接服务于国际海洋发展方案在深生物圈和海底下海洋领域的优先事项，并有可能扩大研究界分析和解释深生物圈样本的能力。 该项目将通过培训本科生和研究生，促进科学人力资源的开发。 研究结果也将被记录在罗得岛大学的网站上。"

This 2-year project focuses on characterizing the seafloor and subseafloor in the South Pacific Gyre as part of site survey activities for an IODP proposal to drill for deep biosphere objectives. The project will collect sediment cores and conduct bathymetric and geophysical surveys in the South Pacific Gyre, an oceanographic phenomenon that includes a range of geologic settings (e.g., East Pacific Rise; South Pacific abyssal plane) and that is associated with low rates of organic carbon burial and slow sediment accumulation. Core samples will be used to study prokaryotic communities having very low total activity and to determine the extent to which water radiolysis plays a role in supplying electron donors for microbial processes in these carbon-poor sediments. The researchers will closely collaborate with German scientists on many of the project's deep biosphere objectives. The project directly serves IODP priorities in the area of the deep biosphere and subseafloor ocean and has the potential to expand the research community's capacity to analyze and interpret deep biosphere samples. The project will contribute to the development of human resources in science through the training of both undergraduate and graduate students. Results will also be documented on an established University of Rhode Island website on "Subsurface Life."