Heterotrophic Microbial Colonization of the Interior of Shocked Rocks from the Haughton Impact Structure, Devon Island, Nunavut, Canadian High Arctic ...
The polar desert is one of the most extreme environments on Earth. In these regions, microorganisms have had to develop novel strategies and adaptations in order to survive. One of the most effective such strategies has been developed by mkroorganisms, known as endoliths, which live in the interior...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
2002
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.12843 https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/266772 |
| Summary: | The polar desert is one of the most extreme environments on Earth. In these regions, microorganisms have had to develop novel strategies and adaptations in order to survive. One of the most effective such strategies has been developed by mkroorganisms, known as endoliths, which live in the interior of rocks, escaping or mitigating the hazards of the polar desert and fully utilizing the resources available in the rock environment. The most studied groups of polar endoliths are near-surface phototrophic communities inhabiting porous sedimentary rocks in Antarctica. Here we examine a novel environment for endolithic communities: crystalline rocks that have undergone shock metamorphosis as a result of a comet or asteroid impact. Specifically, we present a characterization of the heterotrophic endolithic community and its environment in the interior of impact-shocked gneiss and breccia samples from Haughton Impact structure on Devon Island, Nunavut, in the Canadian High Arctic. The high-latitude and arid, polar ... |
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