News From the Field 90 Billion Tons of Microbial Organisms Live in the Deep Biosphere
July 20, 2008
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Biogeoscientists show evidence of 90 billion tons of microbial organisms--expressed in terms of carbon mass--living in the deep biosphere, in a research article published online by Nature, July 20, 2008. This tonnage corresponds to about one-tenth of the amount of carbon stored globally in tropical rainforests. This finding is in stark contrast to previous reports, which suggest that bacteria dominate the sub-seafloor ecosystem.
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Source Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International
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