Into the Deep: Exploring microbial life and fluid-rock interactions in oceanic crust

Prosjekttittel

Into the Deep: Exploring microbial life and fluid-rock interactions in oceanic crust

Veiledere

Steffen Jørgensen og Andreas Türke

Prosjektbeskrivelse

I am fascinated by the relationships between microbes and their host environments. This interest is what led me to my PhD project in geomicrobioloy. My project, titled "Into the Deep: Exploring microbial life and fluid-rock interactions in oceanic crust", aims to better understand the diversity and ecosystem role microbial communities have in the deep oceanic crust biosphere. I will be investigating the pioneering microbial community composition on freshly formed basalts, exploring the metabolic potential and diversity of the microbial communities from various oceanic crust sites, and identifying the role microbes have on basalt alteration rates using a series of experiments. I hope that my research will contribute to what little knowledge we have about the global impact of this massive biome and the mechanisms of life in the deep subsurface biosphere.