Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge
Liquid water occurs below glaciers and ice sheets globally, enabling the existence of an array of aquatic microbial ecosystems. In Antarctica, large subglacial lakes are present beneath hundreds to thousands of metres of ice, and scientific interest in exploring these environments has escalated over...
Published in: | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 2024-09-15T17:45:07+00:00 Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge Mikucki, J. A. Lee, P. A. Ghosh, D. Purcell, A. M. Mitchell, A. C. Mankoff, K. D. Fisher, A. T. Tulaczyk, S. Carter, S. Siegfried, M. R. Fricker, H. A. Hodson, T. Coenen, J. Powell, R. Scherer, R. Vick-Majors, T. Achberger, A. A. Christner, B. C. Tranter, M. NSF 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 374, issue 2059, page 20140290 ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962 journal-article 2016 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 2024-08-26T04:21:02Z Liquid water occurs below glaciers and ice sheets globally, enabling the existence of an array of aquatic microbial ecosystems. In Antarctica, large subglacial lakes are present beneath hundreds to thousands of metres of ice, and scientific interest in exploring these environments has escalated over the past decade. After years of planning, the first team of scientists and engineers cleanly accessed and retrieved pristine samples from a West Antarctic subglacial lake ecosystem in January 2013. This paper reviews the findings to date on Subglacial Lake Whillans and presents new supporting data on the carbon and energy metabolism of resident microbes. The analysis of water and sediments from the lake revealed a diverse microbial community composed of bacteria and archaea that are close relatives of species known to use reduced N, S or Fe and CH 4 as energy sources. The water chemistry of Subglacial Lake Whillans was dominated by weathering products from silicate minerals with a minor influence from seawater. Contributions to water chemistry from microbial sulfide oxidation and carbonation reactions were supported by genomic data. Collectively, these results provide unequivocal evidence that subglacial environments in this region of West Antarctica host active microbial ecosystems that participate in subglacial biogeochemical cycling. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica The Royal Society Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 374 2059 20140290 |
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crroyalsociety |
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English |
description |
Liquid water occurs below glaciers and ice sheets globally, enabling the existence of an array of aquatic microbial ecosystems. In Antarctica, large subglacial lakes are present beneath hundreds to thousands of metres of ice, and scientific interest in exploring these environments has escalated over the past decade. After years of planning, the first team of scientists and engineers cleanly accessed and retrieved pristine samples from a West Antarctic subglacial lake ecosystem in January 2013. This paper reviews the findings to date on Subglacial Lake Whillans and presents new supporting data on the carbon and energy metabolism of resident microbes. The analysis of water and sediments from the lake revealed a diverse microbial community composed of bacteria and archaea that are close relatives of species known to use reduced N, S or Fe and CH 4 as energy sources. The water chemistry of Subglacial Lake Whillans was dominated by weathering products from silicate minerals with a minor influence from seawater. Contributions to water chemistry from microbial sulfide oxidation and carbonation reactions were supported by genomic data. Collectively, these results provide unequivocal evidence that subglacial environments in this region of West Antarctica host active microbial ecosystems that participate in subglacial biogeochemical cycling. |
author2 |
NSF |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mikucki, J. A. Lee, P. A. Ghosh, D. Purcell, A. M. Mitchell, A. C. Mankoff, K. D. Fisher, A. T. Tulaczyk, S. Carter, S. Siegfried, M. R. Fricker, H. A. Hodson, T. Coenen, J. Powell, R. Scherer, R. Vick-Majors, T. Achberger, A. A. Christner, B. C. Tranter, M. |
spellingShingle |
Mikucki, J. A. Lee, P. A. Ghosh, D. Purcell, A. M. Mitchell, A. C. Mankoff, K. D. Fisher, A. T. Tulaczyk, S. Carter, S. Siegfried, M. R. Fricker, H. A. Hodson, T. Coenen, J. Powell, R. Scherer, R. Vick-Majors, T. Achberger, A. A. Christner, B. C. Tranter, M. Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
author_facet |
Mikucki, J. A. Lee, P. A. Ghosh, D. Purcell, A. M. Mitchell, A. C. Mankoff, K. D. Fisher, A. T. Tulaczyk, S. Carter, S. Siegfried, M. R. Fricker, H. A. Hodson, T. Coenen, J. Powell, R. Scherer, R. Vick-Majors, T. Achberger, A. A. Christner, B. C. Tranter, M. |
author_sort |
Mikucki, J. A. |
title |
Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
title_short |
Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
title_full |
Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
title_fullStr |
Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
title_full_unstemmed |
Subglacial Lake Whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
title_sort |
subglacial lake whillans microbial biogeochemistry: a synthesis of current knowledge |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica West Antarctica |
op_source |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences volume 374, issue 2059, page 20140290 ISSN 1364-503X 1471-2962 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2014.0290 |
container_title |
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
container_volume |
374 |
container_issue |
2059 |
container_start_page |
20140290 |
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