NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Japan

这项行动资助加州理工学院的大卫汉密尔顿·凯斯于2013年夏天在日本高知的日本海洋地球科学技术机构（JAMSTEC）开展一项地球科学研究项目。 该项目的标题是“了解哪些微生物物种生活在海底下，它们吃什么”。“主办科学家是稻垣文雄博士。海洋泥火山是富含碳氢化合物的地区，沉积物从地球海洋地壳深处向上移动到海底。从海洋泥火山顶部采集的样本（即，海底）通常被假定为代表海洋地壳深处的地球化学和生物条件（即，海底以下100米）。这项研究通过从海底泥火山顶部和海底115米以下回收生物样本来直接验证这一假设。从2012年开始，将生物样品与稳定的同位素标记的食物来源（例如13 C-甲烷，13 C-葡萄糖，15 N-铵）一起孵育一年。孵育后，在EAPSI 2013支持的帮助下，微生物细胞（1）通过微生物发生学鉴定，（2）分析同位素含量，以确定哪些细胞消耗哪些食物来源。这为地球地下微生物群落的身份和代谢功能提供了信息，并检验了海洋泥火山顶部和底部包含相同条件的假设。EAPSI奖学金的更广泛影响包括为研究员提供美国以外的第一手研究经验;介绍各自所在地的科学，科学政策和科学基础设施;以及社会，文化和语言的方向。 这些活动符合NSF的目标，即在科学家，工程师和教育工作者的职业生涯早期进行国际合作教育，从而确保具有全球意识的美国科学工作者。此外，社会将受益于增加对富含碳氢化合物的环境中的地球化学的微生物控制的知识，该环境已被提议为潜在的未开发的天然气来源。此外，该研究员通过活动，课程和讲座参与K-12科学教学。与年轻观众分享故事，照片和对科学的兴奋促进了未来几代科学家的教学，培训，学习和灵感。

This action funds David Hamilton Case of the California Institute of Technology to conduct a research project in Geosciences during the summer of 2013 at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) in Kochi, Japan. The project title is "Understanding Which Microbial Species Live Below the Seafloor and What They Eat." The host scientist is Dr. Fumio Inagaki.Marine mud volcanoes are hydrocarbon-rich areas where sediment is moved upward from deep within Earth's oceanic crust to the seafloor. Samples taken from the top of a marine mud volcano (i.e., the seafloor) are often assumed to be representative of geochemical and biological conditions deep within the oceanic crust (i.e., 100s of meters below the seafloor). This study directly tests this assumption by recovering biological samples from the top of a marine mud volcano and 115 meters below the ocean floor. Starting in 2012 biological samples were incubated with stable isotope-labeled food sources (e.g. 13C-methane, 13C-glucose, 15N-ammonium) for one year. Following incubation and with the assistance of EAPSI 2013 support microbiological cells are (1) identified by phylogeny and (2) analyzed for isotopic content to determine which cells consumed which food sources. This informs the identity and metabolic function of microbial communities in Earth's subsurface and tests the assumption that the top and bottom of marine mud volcanoes contain identical conditions.Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, society will benefit by increased knowledge of the microbial controls on geochemistry in a hydrocarbon-rich environment which has been proposed as a potential untapped source of natural gas. Additionally, the Fellow is involved in teaching K-12 science through activities, lessons, and talks. Sharing stories, photographs, and excitement for science with a young audience promotes teaching, training, learning, and inspiration of future generations of scientists.