Project Profile
Earth's Subsurface Biosphere: Coupling of Microbial, Geophysical and Geochemical Processes
Oregon State University
Abstract
The biosphere is usually thought of as plants and animals near the Earth’s surface, but the Earth’s habitable zone extends to depths of hundreds or thousands of meters. The Earth’s subsurface biosphere is composed mostly of bacteria, and collectively these bacteria may have a mass equivalent to that of all… more »
The biosphere is usually thought of as plants and animals near the Earth’s surface, but the Earth’s habitable zone extends to depths of hundreds or thousands of meters. The Earth’s subsurface biosphere is composed mostly of bacteria, and collectively these bacteria may have a mass equivalent to that of all life in the near-surface biosphere. The emerging study of the subsurface biosphere could solve major environmental, agricultural, and industrial problems, and lead to products that will improve human health and prosperity. The key to success in this field will be an understanding of the links between subsurface microbiology and the Earth’s physical and chemical environments and processes. This understanding is applicable to the transformation of toxic waste into harmless byproducts, safer drinking water, increased mining efficiency, increased flow of oil from wells, confining nuclear waste in storage facilities, improving soil and crops, reutilization of animal and human wastes, and the basics the Earth’s global and local chemical cycles.
To prepare graduate students for these challenges we will coordinate the training of students by internationally recognized engineers, microbiologists, geologists, oceanographers, geochemists, soil scientists, and hydrologists. Students’ preparation will be broadened with a new subsurface biosphere integrated minor with five related components. Some of these are: a group training effort, courses that link microbial with physical and chemical processes from molecular to global scales, and international and national internships, field programs, and symposia. Ethical and cultural issues related to subsurface science, bioengineering, and the environment will be included in courses, seminars and workshops.
IGERT is an NSF-wide program intended to meet the challenges of educating Ph.D. scientists and engineers with the multidisciplinary backgrounds and the technical, professional, and personal skills needed for the career demands of the future. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education by establishing new, innovative models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. In the fourth year of the program, awards are being made to twenty-two institutions for programs that collectively span all areas of science and engineering supported by NSF. The intellectual foci of this specific award reside in the Directorates for Geosciences; Biological Sciences; Engineering; Education and Human Resources; and the Office of Polar Programs. « less
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