Astrobiology: Life in the Universe

Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP)


  1. Seminar Detail

    Microbial Activities in Deep Subseafloor Sediments

    Microbial Activities in Deep Subseafloor Sediments

    Presenter: Steven D'Hondt

    April 30, 2007 11:00 AM Pacific

    Recent studies by URI investigators and our collaborators have advanced understanding of Earth’s subsurface life in several ways. These advances include the following discoveries: (1) respiration per subseafloor cell is much lower than canonical estimates of respiration required for cell maintenance; (2) thermodynamic cooperation sustains complex subsurface communities for millions of years; (3) subseafloor biomass and predominant redox activities vary predictably with the chlorophyll content of the surface ocean; (4) subseafloor redox activities ultimately affect the chemistry of the ocean and atmosphere; and (5) Earth’s subsurface biomass is much smaller than the canonical estimate. Preliminary data suggest that hydrogen from radiolysis of water may be a significant food source for microbial communities in the low-activity sediments that characterize much of the open ocean.

    Participation Instructions

    With a Polycom....RSVP to Marco Boldt (Marco.Boldt@nasa.gov) and connect to WebEx as instructed below. If you need Polycom help during the live event, call the videoconferencing help-desk at (650) 604-6412

    The slides from the seminar can be accessed real-time using WebEx at:

    https://nasa.webex.com

    Enter the meeting number: 926 097 234 Hit the "join now" button.

    Enter your name or site name (this is not an assigned log-in name, please use your institution name or your first and last name), email and the password: d'hondt123* (case sensitive)

    If you've never joined a WebEx meeting before, please allow an extra 5-10 minutes to install the plug-in.

    Without a Polycom...There are two ways to participate:

    1) You can listen to the seminar on the telephone while viewing the slides in WebEx (see WebEx instructions above). The NASA conference phone number will be displayed when joining the WebEx meeting.

    2) You can watch the Realplayer webcast at: http://vanseg-1.arc.nasa.gov/2007/AB070430-01.ram and view the slides in WebEx (see WebEx instructions above) There is a 30 second delay for the webcast, so you will need to control the slides manually using the arrow buttons in WebEx. Questions for the speaker can be posted in the WebEx chat area to be answered at the end of the talk. Do not try to watch the Realplayer webcast at the same time as the Polycom or the phone. Due to the delay in the webcast, it will sound awful, unless you like dissonance.


    Click here to view Podcast

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