Microorganisms in the subsurface

Bachofen, Reinhard; Ferloni, P.; Flynn, Isabelle

doi:10.1016/s0944-5013(98)80016-5

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 222 publications

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“…Boreholes drilled with the purpose of exploring microbial life are rarely deeper than 1000 m [10,11]. However, depth is not the only limiting factor for survival of deep life.…”

Section: How Deep Is Deep ?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of deep intraterrestrial microbial life: current perspectives

Pedersen

2000

FEMS Microbiology Letters

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Intraterrestrial life has been found at depths of several thousand metres in deep sub-sea floor sediments and in the basement crust beneath the sediments. It has also been found at up to 2800-m depth in continental sedimentary rocks, 5300-m depth in igneous rock aquifers and in fluid inclusions in ancient salt deposits from salt mines. The biomass of these intraterrestrial organisms may be equal to the total weight of all marine and terrestrial plants. The intraterrestrial microbes generally seem to be active at very low but significant rates and several investigations indicate chemolithoautotrophs to form a chemosynthetic base. Hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide gases are continuously generated in the interior of our planet and probably constitute sustainable sources of carbon and energy for deep intraterrestrial biosphere ecosystems. Several prospective research areas are foreseen to focus on the importance of microbial communities for metabolic processes such as anaerobic utilisation of hydrocarbons and anaerobic methane oxidation. ß

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“…Boreholes drilled with the purpose of exploring microbial life are rarely deeper than 1000 m [10,11]. However, depth is not the only limiting factor for survival of deep life.…”

Section: How Deep Is Deep ?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of deep intraterrestrial microbial life: current perspectives

Pedersen

2000

FEMS Microbiology Letters

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“…The detailed geochemical characterization (Descourvieres et al ., ) of the aquifer has facilitated a conceptual understanding of the key geochemical processes that will take place with MAR operations and is of value to reliably predict eminent microbiological processes. The importance of having a good knowledge of concentrations and species of organic carbon, different types and concentrations of electron acceptors or other nutrients, hydraulic conductivity, texture, porosity, surface area, and mineralogy of the aquifer has been highlighted as important to develop a holistic understanding of subsurface microbial ecology (Pedersen, ; Bachofen et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bacterial community and groundwater quality changes in an anaerobic aquifer during groundwater recharge with aerobic recycled water

Ginige

Kaksonen

Morris

et al. 2013

FEMS Microbiol Ecol

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Managed aquifer recharge offers the opportunity to manage groundwater resources by storing water in aquifers when in surplus and thus increase the amount of groundwater available for abstraction during high demand. The Water Corporation of Western Australia (WA) is undertaking a Groundwater Replenishment Trial to evaluate the effects of recharging aerobic recycled water (secondary treated wastewater subjected to ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet disinfection) into the anaerobic Leederville aquifer in Perth, WA. Using culture-independent methods, this study showed the presence of Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Bacilli, Betaproteobacteria, Cytophaga, Flavobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Sphingobacteria, and a decrease in microbial diversity with an increase in depth of aquifer. Assessment of physico-chemical and microbiological properties of groundwater before and after recharge revealed that recharging the aquifer with aerobic recycled water resulted in elevated redox potentials in the aquifer and increased bacterial numbers, but reduced microbial diversity. The increase in bacterial numbers and reduced microbial diversity in groundwater could be a reflection of an increased denitrifier and sulfur-oxidizing populations in the aquifer, as a result of the increased availability of nitrate, oxygen, and residual organic matter. This is consistent with the geochemical data that showed pyrite oxidation and denitrification within the aquifer after recycled water recharge commenced.

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“…and carbon from CO 2 ) and chemosynthetically-based ecosystems are no longer considered unique (e.g., Stevens & McKinley, 1995;Stevens, 1997;Bachofen et al, 1998;Kinkle & Kane, 2000;Pedersen, 2001;Chapelle et al, 2002;Barton et al, 2007). Yet, how these microbial communities function in situ is still poorly understood and few detailed ecosystem analyses have been attempted.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%