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A Global Perspective on the Microbial Abundance and Activity in the Deep Subsurface

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Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments

Part of the book series: Cellular Origin and Life in Extreme Habitats ((COLE,volume 1))

Abstract

Reports that microorganisms and even microbial communities exist at great depths below the continental surface and below the sea floor have steadily increased in the past several years. The best evidence for the presence and diversity of microorganisms at hundreds to thousands of meters below the land surface (mbls.) lies with cores taken using tracers to detect contamination and processed by aseptic methods (Griffin et al., 1997). Other sources of information on the subterranean biosphere include ground water samples and microbial investigations of recently excavated mine faces. This review compares results from these studies with those of the marine subsurface in order to place constraints on the global subsurface biomass and rate of biogeochemical cycling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    T. C. Onstott

  2. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831-6036, USA

    T. J. Phelps

  3. Dept. of Biology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM, 87801, USA

    T. Kieft

  4. Biotechnologies Department, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, ID, 83415-2203, USA

    F. S. Colwell

  5. Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306, USA

    D. L. Balkwill

  6. Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland, WA, 99352, USA

    J. K. Fredrickson & F. J. Brockman

Authors
  1. T. C. Onstott
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  2. T. J. Phelps
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  3. T. Kieft
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  4. F. S. Colwell
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  5. D. L. Balkwill
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  6. J. K. Fredrickson
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  7. F. J. Brockman
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Joseph Seckbach

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Onstott, T.C. et al. (1999). A Global Perspective on the Microbial Abundance and Activity in the Deep Subsurface. In: Seckbach, J. (eds) Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments. Cellular Origin and Life in Extreme Habitats, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4838-2_38

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4838-2_38

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1863-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4838-2

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