Quantification of basal ice microbial cell delivery to the glacier margin
We present the first assessment of microbial cell discharge from sediment-laden glacier basal ice. At Svínafellsjökull, a temperate valley glacier in Iceland, approximately 1017 cells a−1 are transferred through basal ice to the proglacial environment, and between 101 and 106 cells g−1 basal ice wer...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus GmbH
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/617382/1/Toubes-Rodrigo%20et%20al_bg-2016-471.pdf |
| Summary: | We present the first assessment of microbial cell discharge from sediment-laden glacier basal ice. At Svínafellsjökull, a temperate valley glacier in Iceland, approximately 1017 cells a−1 are transferred through basal ice to the proglacial environment, and between 101 and 106 cells g−1 basal ice were cultured from our samples under laboratory conditions. We suggest that the delivery of viable cells and dead microbial matter to proglacial ecosystems could be playing a crucial role in soil formation and primary succession during deglaciation, but further quantification of cell transfer from a range of glacier contexts is required. |
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