| 1. |
- Anderson, Craig, 1976, et al.
(author)
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In situ ecological development of a bacteriogenic iron oxide-producing microbial community from a subsurface granitic rock environment
- 2006
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In: Geobiology. - : Wiley. - 1472-4677 .- 1472-4669. ; 4:1, s. 29-42
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The initial development and diversity of an in situ subsurface microbial community producing bacteriogenic iron oxides (BIOS) were investigated at the initiation of biofilm growth (2-month period) and after a 1-year period of undisturbed growth. Water chemistry data, samples of iron encrusted biofilm material and groundwater were collected from BRIC (BIOS reactor, in situ, continuous flow) apparatuses installed 297 m below sea level at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL) in south eastern Sweden. Comparisons between the BIOS BRIC system and an anaerobic control (AC) BRIC revealed that water mixing at the inflow leads to profuse development of BIOS related to a slightly elevated level of O2 (up to 0.3 mg L-1 at the transition zone between BIOS development and non-development) and elevated Eh (>120 mV) in the first 70 mm of water depth. Decreases in dissolved and particulate iron were connected to the visible appearance of BIOS biofilms. The basic phylogenetic diversity of this site was evaluated using amplified ribosomal DNA restriction enzyme analysis (ARDRA), denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and partial sequencing of 16S rDNA. From 67 clones that were positive for 16S rDNA inserts, a total of 42 different ARDRA profiles were recognized, representing four bacterial phyla and 14 different metabolic lifestyles. DGGE profiles indicated that there are differences in the representative bacteria when considering either BIOS biofilms or groundwater. DGGE also indicated that the DNA extraction protocols and any polymerase chain reaction biases were consistent. Bacterial metabolic groups associated with indirect metal adsorption and reduction along with bacteria utilizing many alternative electron acceptors were strongly represented within the clones. This study indicates that the microbial diversity of BIOS is greater than previously thought.
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| 2. |
- Bonaglia, Stefano, et al.
(author)
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Methane fluxes from coastal sediments are enhanced by macrofauna
- 2017
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 7:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Methane and nitrous oxide are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. Coastal sediments are important GHG producers, but the contribution of macrofauna (benthic invertebrates larger than 1 mm) inhabiting them is currently unknown. Through a combination of trace gas, isotope, and molecular analyses, we studied the direct and indirect contribution of two macrofaunal groups, polychaetes and bivalves, to methane and nitrous oxide fluxes from coastal sediments. Our results indicate that macrofauna increases benthic methane efflux by a factor of up to eight, potentially accounting for an estimated 9.5% of total emissions from the Baltic Sea. Polychaetes indirectly enhance methane efflux through bioturbation, while bivalves have a direct effect on methane release. Bivalves host archaeal methanogenic symbionts carrying out preferentially hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, as suggested by analysis of methane isotopes. Low temperatures (8 °C) also stimulate production of nitrous oxide, which is consumed by benthic denitrifying bacteria before it reaches the water column. We show that macrofauna contributes to GHG production and that the extent is dependent on lineage. Thus, macrofauna may play an important, but overlooked role in regulating GHG production and exchange in coastal sediment ecosystems.
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| 3. |
- Callac, Nolwenn, et al.
(author)
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Modes of carbon fixation in an arsenic and CO2-rich shallow hydrothermal ecosystem
- 2017
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The seafloor sediments of Spathi Bay, Milos Island, Greece, are part of the largest arsenic-CO2-rich shallow submarine hydrothermal ecosystem on Earth. Here, white and brown deposits cap chemically distinct sediments with varying hydrothermal influence. All sediments contain abundant genes for autotrophic carbon fixation used in the Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) and reverse tricaboxylic acid (rTCA) cycles. Both forms of RuBisCO, together with ATP citrate lyase genes in the rTCA cycle, increase with distance from the active hydrothermal centres and decrease with sediment depth. Clustering of RuBisCO Form II with a highly prevalent Zetaproteobacteria 16S rRNA gene density infers that iron-oxidizing bacteria contribute significantly to the sediment CBB cycle gene content. Three clusters form from different microbial guilds, each one encompassing one gene involved in CO2 fixation, aside from sulfate reduction. Our study suggests that the microbially mediated CBB cycle drives carbon fixation in the Spathi Bay sediments that are characterized by diffuse hydrothermal activity, high CO2, As emissions and chemically reduced fluids. This study highlights the breadth of conditions influencing the biogeochemistry in shallow CO2-rich hydrothermal systems and the importance of coupling highly specific process indicators to elucidate the complexity of carbon cycling in these ecosystems.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Chi Fru, Ernest, et al.
(author)
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Arsenic and high affinity phosphate uptake gene distribution in shallow submarine hydrothermal sediments
- 2018
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In: Biogeochemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0168-2563 .- 1573-515X. ; 141:1, s. 41-62
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The toxicity of arsenic (As) towards life on Earth is apparent in the dense distribution of genes associated with As detoxification across the tree of life. The ability to defend against As is particularly vital for survival in As-rich shallow submarine hydrothermal ecosystems along the Hellenic Volcanic Arc (HVA), where life is exposed to hydrothermal fluids containing up to 3000 times more As than present in seawater. We propose that the removal of dissolved As and phosphorus (P) by sulfide and Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxide minerals during sediment-seawater interaction, produces nutrient-deficient porewaters containing<2.0ppb P. The porewater arsenite-As(III) to arsenate-As(V) ratios, combined with sulfide concentration in the sediment and/or porewater, suggest a hydrothermally-induced seafloor redox gradient. This gradient overlaps with changing high affinity phosphate uptake gene abundance. High affinity phosphate uptake and As cycling genes are depleted in the sulfide-rich settings, relative to the more oxidizing habitats where mainly Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides are precipitated. In addition, a habitat-wide low As-respiring and As-oxidizing gene content relative to As resistance gene richness, suggests that As detoxification is prioritized over metabolic As cycling in the sediments. Collectively, the data point to redox control on Fe and S mineralization as a decisive factor in the regulation of high affinity phosphate uptake and As cycling gene content in shallow submarine hydrothermal ecosystems along the HVA.
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| 6. |
- Chi Fru, Ernest, et al.
(author)
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Arsenic-induced phosphate limitation under experimental Early Proterozoic oceanic conditions
- 2016
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In: Earth and Planetary Science Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 0012-821X .- 1385-013X. ; 434, s. 52-63
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Comparison of phosphorus concentrations associated with modern hydrothermal Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides and ancient Fe(III) oxide-rich iron formations, is used to estimate bioavailable Precambrian marine phosphorus (P) concentrations. This led to the proposition of a low dissolved P budget of similar to 10-25% of present-day levels, before similar to 1.9 billion years ago. Estimates incorporating ancient marine Si levels >= 0.67 mM instead suggested global dissolved P levels greater than today. Here we unite current experimental models that have considered NaCl solutions containing elevated dissolved Fe(II), Si, Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions in the incorporation of P in Precambrian marine Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides, in addition to arsenic as a hydrothermal proxy. We show that the coprecipitation of dissolved P and Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides from arsenic-rich marine waters produces an average P distribution coefficient of similar to 0.072 (+/- 0.01) mu M-1. This is comparable to the similar to 0.07 mu M-1 predicted for Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides in modern arsenic-rich, submarine hydrothermal settings, from which the lower Early Proterozoic dissolved marine P concentrations were predicted. As/P molar ratios below modern seawater ratios removed the negative feedback effect high Si impose on P scavenging by Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides. The binding of As(III) to Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides exhibits a lower competitive influence on P fixation. As(V) that likely became prominent in the surficially oxidized Early Proterozoic oceans induced dissolved P limitation because of preferential P sequestration at the expense of dissolved As(V) enrichment. The control of As on P scavenging by the precipitating Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides is strong regardless of common seawater cations (Mg2+ and Ca2+). The data suggest that the application of Si and Fe(III)(oxyhydr)oxides as an ancient seawater P proxy should consider chemical variability between depositional basins, taking into account the rather strong role hydrothermal arsenic has on the distribution of P in Fe(Ill)(oxyhydr)oxides. We propose that the generalized lower dissolved P budgets estimated from Early Proterozoic iron formations are consistent with oceans thought to be at least 3-4 times more hydrothermally active than at present.
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| 7. |
- Chi Fru, Ernest, et al.
(author)
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Arsenic stress after the Proterozoic glaciations
- 2015
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Protection against arsenic damage in organisms positioned deep in the tree of life points to early evolutionary sensitization. Here, marine sedimentary records reveal a Proterozoic arsenic concentration patterned to glacial-interglacial ages. The low glacial and high interglacial sedimentary arsenic concentrations, suggest deteriorating habitable marine conditions may have coincided with atmospheric oxygen decline after ~2.1 billion years ago. A similar intensification of near continental margin sedimentary arsenic levels after the Cryogenian glaciations is also associated with amplified continental weathering. However, interpreted atmospheric oxygen increase at this time, suggests that the marine biosphere had widely adapted to the reorganization of global marine elemental cycles by glaciations. Such a glacially induced biogeochemical bridge would have produced physiologically robust communities that enabled increased oxygenation of the ocean-atmosphere system and the radiation of the complex Ediacaran-Cambrian life.
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| 8. |
- Chi Fru, Ernest, et al.
(author)
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Atmospheric weathering of Scandinavian alum shales and the fractionation of C, N and S isotopes
- 2016
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In: Applied Geochemistry. - : Elsevier BV. - 0883-2927 .- 1872-9134. ; 74, s. 94-108
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Subaerial exposure and oxidation of organic carbon (C-org)-rich rocks is believed to be a key mechanism for the recycling of buried C and S back to Earth's surface. Importantly, processes coupled to microbial C-org oxidation are expected to shift new biomass delta C-13(org) composition towards more negative values relative to source. However, there is scarcity of information directly relating rock chemistry to oxidative weathering and shifting delta C-13(org) at the rock-atmosphere interface. This is particularly pertinent to the sulfidic, C-org-rich alum shale units of the Baltoscandian Basin believed to constitute a strong source of metal contaminants to the natural environment, following subaerial exposure and weathering. Consistent with independent support, we show that atmospheric oxidation of the sulfidic, C-org-rich alum shale sequence of the Cambrian-Devonian Baltoscandian Basin induces intense acid rock drainage at the expense of progressive oxidation of Fe sulfides. Sulfide oxidation takes priority over microbial organic matter decomposition, enabling quantitative massive erosion of C-org without producing a delta C-13 shift between acid rock drainage precipitates and shale. Moreover, C-13 enrichment in inorganic carbon of precipitates does not support microbial C-org oxidation as the predominant mechanism of rock weathering upon exposure. Instead, a Delta S-34 = delta S-34(shale) - delta S-34(precipitates) approximate to 0, accompanied by elevated S levels and the ubiquitous deposition of acid rock drainage sulfate minerals in deposited efflorescent precipitates relative to shales, provide strong evidence for quantitative mass oxidation of shale sulfide minerals as the source of acidity for chemical weathering. Slight delta N-15 depletion in the new surface precipitates relative to shale, coincides with dramatic loss of N from shales. Collectively, the results point to pyrite oxidation as a major driver of alum black shale weathering at the rock-atmosphere interface, indicating that quantitative mass release of C-org, N, S, and key metals to the environment is a response to intense sulfide oxidation. Consequently, large-scale acidic weathering of the sulfide-rich alum shale units is suggested to influence the fate and redistribution of the isotopes of C, N, and S from shale to the immediate environment.
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| 9. |
- Chi Fru, Ernest, et al.
(author)
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Biogenicity of an Early Quaternary iron formation, Milos Island, Greece
- 2015
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In: Geobiology. - : Wiley. - 1472-4677 .- 1472-4669. ; 13:3, s. 225-244
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A ~2.0-million-year-old shallow-submarine sedimentary deposit on Milos Island, Greece, harbours an unmetamorphosed fossiliferous iron formation (IF) comparable to Precambrian banded iron formations (BIFs). This Milos IF holds the potential to provide clues to the origin of Precambrian BIFs, relative to biotic and abiotic processes. Here, we combine field stratigraphic observations, stable isotopes of C, S and Si, rock petrography and microfossil evidence from a ~5-m-thick outcrop to track potential biogeochemical processes that may have contributed to the formation of the BIF-type rocks and the abrupt transition to an overlying conglomerate-hosted IF (CIF). Bulk δ13C isotopic compositions lower than -25‰ provide evidence for biological contribution by the Calvin and reductive acetyl–CoA carbon fixation cycles to the origin of both the BIF-type and CIF strata. Low S levels of ~0.04 wt.% combined with δ34S estimates of up to ~18‰ point to a non-sulphidic depository. Positive δ30Si records of up to +0.53‰ in the finely laminated BIF-type rocks indicate chemical deposition on the seafloor during weak periods of arc magmatism. Negative δ30Si data are consistent with geological observations suggesting a sudden change to intense arc volcanism potentially terminated the deposition of the BIF-type layer. The typical Precambrian rhythmic rocks of alternating Fe- and Si-rich bands are associated with abundant and spatially distinct microbial fossil assemblages. Together with previously proposed anoxygenic photoferrotrophic iron cycling and low sedimentary N and C potentially connected to diagenetic denitrification, the Milos IF is a biogenic submarine volcano-sedimentary IF showing depositional conditions analogous to Archaean Algoma-type BIFs.
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| 10. |
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