By acting as gatekeepers, microbes can affect geological processes that move carbon from the earth's surface into its deep interior, according to a study published in Nature and coauthored by microbiologists at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The research is part of the Deep Carbon Observatory's Biology Meets Subduction project.

"We usually think of geology as something that happens independently of life, and life just adjusts to the geology," said Karen Lloyd, associate professor of microbiology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and senior author of the study. "But we found that microbes can impact major geological processes happening on Earth today."

For the study, researchers evaluated the Costa Rica's subduction zone, a point where the ocean floor sinks underneath the continental plate. The results showed that microbes consume and trap a small but measurable amount of the carbon sinking into the trench off Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The microbes may also be involved in chemical processes that pull out even more carbon, leaving cement-like veins of calcite in the crust.

"It is amazing to consider that tiny microbes can potentially influence geological processes on similar scales as these powerful and visually impressive volcanoes, which are direct conduits to the earth's interior," said Maarten de Moor, coauthor and professor at the National University of Costa Rica's Observatory of Volcanology and Seismology.

The unexpected findings have important implications for how much carbon moves from Earth's surface into the interior, especially over geological timescales. The research is part of the Deep Carbon Observatory's Biology Meets Subduction project.

In the future, researchers plan to investigate other forearc regions to see if this trend is widespread. If these biological and geochemical processes occur worldwide, they would translate to 19 percent less carbon entering the deep mantle than previously estimated.

Research paper

Related Links
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Dinosaur-era crab fossil reveals new branch in the tree of life
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 25, 2019
Researchers have discovered an unusual new crab species, Callichimaera perplexa, in both Columbia and Wyoming. The dinosaur-era crab, which lived between 90 and 95 million years ago, is unlike a modern crab. According to scientists with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, the species and its unique morphology revealed an entirely new branch of the tree of life. "This new discovery is one of the most exciting fossil findings in the tropics in the past decade," Javier Lu ... read more