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- PP44A-02: Evidence for Cryptic Sulfur Cycling in Oxic Sediments of The South Atlantic Transect
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NOLA CC
Author(s):Generic 'disconnected' Message
William Gilhooly, Indiana University Indianapolis (First Author, Presenting Author)
Jens Kallmeyer, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section Geomicrobiology
Tina Treude, University of California Los Angeles
Therra Wilbrandt, Indiana University Indianapolis
Jason Sylvan, Texas A&M University
Brandi Kiel Reese, University of South Alabama
Yi Wang, Tulane University
Man-Yin Tsang, University of Washington
William Leavitt, University of Utah
Microbes that reduce sulfate (using it to break down organic matter) and oxidize sulfide (turning it back into sulfate), play an important role in Earth’s carbon and oxygen cycles over millions of years. We collected samples from the South Atlantic Ocean by drilling into ocean crust that ranges from 6.6 to 61.2 million years old. The study sites presented herein are from U1559, closest to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (young crust) and U1556, farthest from the ridge (old crust). In both sites, sulfate concentrations drop even where oxygen is still present. This is unusual and suggests these anaerobic microbes are active in oxygen-rich zones. Another unique finding is that sulfate seems to be moving into the sediment both downward from the ocean and upward from the crust, showing that deep Earth processes affect sediment chemistry and microbiology. These findings challenge the traditional view of how microbes behave deep below the seafloor. They show that life is more active and complex in deep ocean sediments than we thought, and that Earth’s crust plays a role in shaping ocean chemistry.
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