Up close and personal
Deep underground microbial research is the focus of a talk by Tullis C. Onstott from the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University Thursday (October 12) at the Laboratory.
The talk, The Terrestrial Deep Biosphere: Up Close And Personal, is scheduled to begin at 1:10 p.m., in the Physics Auditorium at Technical Area 3. The unclassified talk is open to Laboratory badgeholders. It will be shown on LABNET Channel 9 and on desktop computers using Real Media Stream and IPTV technology.
Over the last five years, Onstott's research projects have focused on the transport of bacteria and other microorganisms in the subsurface, the activity and survival of bacteria and other microorganisms in the subsurface and their impact on the geochemistry and mineralogy of their environment. Among the questions he is attempting to address are the following:
• How does large-scale migration of bacteria occur?
• Do subsurface microorganisms evolve by adaptation or selection?
• Could life have originated in the subsurface?
• What methods can be adapted to test for life in the Martian subsurface?
In his presentation, Onstott will reference the research being conducted at the gold mines of South Africa, which extend to depths of more than 4 kilometers and provide unprecedented opportunities to gather pristine microbial samples from fracture water that in some cases has been isolated from the surface for more than 20 million years.
He also will discuss the current construction of an underground lab at 3.8 kilometers in depth, which will enable in situ observations of microbial activity, and the funding of a U.S. DUSEL (Deep Underground Science and Engineering Lab), where long-term microbial experiments and the search for new forms of life can be pursued.
Onstott received his doctorate and master’s degrees in geology from Princeton University in 1980. He earned his bachelor’s in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology in 1976.
The Director’s Colloquium Advisory Board actively solicits nominations for speakers and suggestions for interesting, unclassified talks. Nominations for talks should be of outstanding scientific and technical merit or on an important policy issue.
To suggest possible speakers and topics of interest, go to the Director's Colloquium Web page and complete the speaker nomination form. A schedule of upcoming speakers also is at this site.
