deeply sourced springs in the Philippines serve as a window to earth's deep biosphere -- what can we learn?
Microbial communities inhabiting the Earth's subsurface occupy a scientifically uncharted realm, and may penetrate the Earth's crust to depths of 5 to 10 km--until it is too hot to survive. It has been estimated recently that the deep subsurface habitat could accommodate more biomass and biodiversity than on Earth's surface, and the impact of this vast reservoir of biomass on biogeochemical cycling on Earth is a gap in our current knowledge of Earth systems. Dr. Dawn Cardace (University of Rhode Island, Geosciences) and Dr. D'Arcy Meyer-Dombard (University of Illinois at Chicago, Earth and Environmental Science) team up to investigate how life transforms water and rock in very high pH springs at two localities in the Philippines, at Zambales and Palawan, and allow us to learn more about critical chemical and biological connections in ways that may serve both science (particularly in defining the unknown edge of the biosphere in these exciting settings, including how microbes survive in low oxygen, low nutrient settings) and society (with strong links to ongoing experiments in carbon sequestration, toxic waste storage, bioremediation of mining wastes, and micro-scale medical applications).
Dr. Meyer-Dombard's research focus has been the geobiology of terrestrial and shallow submarine hydrothermal systems, and Dr. Cardace has studied the geobiology of tectonic margins, with field localities in the seabed and coastal settings. In this project, funded by the National Science Foundation's Geobiology and Low Temperature Geochemistry Program, they intend to learn how Earth is evolving in concert with life in ways that impact reservoirs of carbon and other elements. They bring a commitment to mentorship and training in research to the table, and the project will allow more students to gain skills including quantitative reasoning, analytical research, and science writing, and materials and findings will be rapidly shared with in service teachers and their students through school visits and interactive, data-rich on-line modules.
Dr. Meyer-Dombard's research focus has been the geobiology of terrestrial and shallow submarine hydrothermal systems, and Dr. Cardace has studied the geobiology of tectonic margins, with field localities in the seabed and coastal settings. In this project, funded by the National Science Foundation's Geobiology and Low Temperature Geochemistry Program, they intend to learn how Earth is evolving in concert with life in ways that impact reservoirs of carbon and other elements. They bring a commitment to mentorship and training in research to the table, and the project will allow more students to gain skills including quantitative reasoning, analytical research, and science writing, and materials and findings will be rapidly shared with in service teachers and their students through school visits and interactive, data-rich on-line modules.
Dr. D'Arcy Meyer-Dombard
Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Earth and Environmental Science
Dr. Meyer-Dombard approaches geomicrobiology from an ecological perspective, using geochemistry, molecular, and microbiology to build ecological models of hydrothermal systems. She is currently focusing on geomicrobial processes at interfaces between reducing and oxidizing systems in terrestrial systems such as Yellowstone National Park and continental serpentinites in Turkey and the Philippines, as well as shallow marine systems (Italy, Papua New Guinea). She interprets molecular (genomic), geochemical, and isotopic parameters to identify the metabolic strategies, nutrient/energy requirements, and geochemical signatures (lipid biomarkers) of thermophilic and chemolithotrophic Bacteria and Archaea.
See more about what goes on in Dr. Meyer-Dombard's Geobiology laboratory!
See more about what goes on in Dr. Meyer-Dombard's Geobiology laboratory!
Dr. Dawn Cardace
Assistant Professor, University of Rhode Island
Department of Geosciences
Dr. Cardace focuses on the geobiology of tectonic margins, with particular interest in stimulated biogeochemical cycling at these tectonic edges. She is currently active in field surveys of modern serpentinites (the Philippines, Turkey, New Zealand, Northern California-USA, and Newfoundland-Canada), seeking geochemical patterns that unite continental and submarine serpentinites. She also is active in a small-scale drilling project in Northern California, funded in 2011 by the NASA Astrobiology Institute Director’s Discretionary Fund. Dr. Cardace looks to understand better the controls on microbiological community diversity in formation fluids in modern serpentinites. Photo at left: Dr. Cardace in foreground, during presentation to Manleluag Spring Community Council, Zambales region (Credit D. Meyer-Dombard).
See more about Dr. Cardace's research activities!
See more about Dr. Cardace's research activities!
Dr. Carlo (Caloy) Arcilla
director of the national institute of geological sciences,
university of the philippines at diliman
Dr. Arcilla specializes in Igneous Petrology and Geochemistry. He has been studying the geochemistry and geology of the Philippines serpentinizing systems ["ophiolites"] for decades, and brings this expertise to our International Collaboration. Dr. Arcilla is also interested in hazard assessment in the Philippines, including natural weather disasters, earthquake hazards, and consequences of mining of natural resources. His involvement with these projects has led him to help develop hazard prediction, as well as cleanup efforts of various local hazardous spills.
Dr. lito argayosa
assistant professor, university of the philippines at diliman
institute of biology
Dr. Argayosa’s expertise is in the area of cell and molecular biology. He works on the families of genes and proteins that are involved in host-pathogen interaction and innate immunity. He has investigated carbohydrate-binding proteins such as lectins and enzymes and their role in microbial and eukaryotic systems. He has also explored the interaction of microbial cells and proteins and organophilic clay biomaterials as biocomposite carriers for various applications in biomedical research. He is also interested the suspected role of these phyllosilicate clays in models of the origin of life.
Julie Scott
M.s. candidate, university of rhode island
Julie Scott is an M.S. candidate in Environmental and Earth Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. She is investigating the response of serpentinite-hosted microbiological communities to gradients in pH, Ca/Mg ratio, and other geochemical parameters.
amy standerM.S. CANDIDATE, UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND
Amy Stander is an M.S. candidate in Environmental and Earth Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. She is tracking redox status in serpentinites, blending mineralogical and geochemical analytical work to constrain ferrous iron distribution in serpentinite mineral constituents and model how much hydrogen could have evolved through alteration of these rocks.
Gamaliel cabria
ph.d. candidate, university of the philippines at diliman
Gama is a graduate student working with Profs. Arcilla, Argayosa, and Lazarro at UP. He has been analyzing genetic data related to some of the organisms that Vina Argayosa has isolated from our Philippine field locations. Gama's work will help elucidate the functions that these organisms facilitate in our high pH springs. The UP research team has already sequenced the genome of one Bacterium isolated from an alkaline spring - the genome indicates that there are many genes and enzymes such as antimicrobials, and genes of interest to industry such as proteases (found in meat tenderizer) and cellulases (used in the manufacture of leathers, textiles, and paper products). He is also searching for genes that give these organisms the ability to cope and survive in this extreme environment.
Kristin M. Woycheese
Ph.D. Candidate, University of Illinois at Chicago
Kristin is a third year Ph.D. student at UIC, advisee of Prof. Meyer-Dombard. In addition to working on the Philippines Geobiology project, she has conducted field work in various exciting locations including Canadian boreal forests, Mexican cenotes, Yellowstone National Park, and Turkish hot springs and serpentinizing systems. Kristin's true [scientific] love is biofilms and microbialites, organized communities of microorganisms that are often associated with mineral precipitations. In this current project, Kristin has participated in field measurements, helped train undergraduates in field methods, and is busy optimizing DNA and RNA extraction from these unique samples. She has recently acquired her own graduate student fellowship from the Center for Deep Energy Biosphere Investigations [C-DEBI], based on her experiences in the Philippines to explore connections between the deep biosphere and the surface environment, such as "relict genetic information."
Bharathi vallalar
Ph.D. candidate, University of illinois at chicago
Bharathi is a first year graduate student at UIC, also in Prof. Meyer-Dombard's laboratory. Bharathi's M.S. work at Louisiana State University with Dr. Fred Rainey involved the difficult task of culturing organisms that are comfortable in high saline [salt], high UV environments. This work has direct application to the study of life in Early Earth environments and potential life on other planetary bodies [also known as "astrobiology"). Bharathi is working on the culturing of anaerobes from the Philippines sites, focussing on metabolisms that are anticipated to be good ways to make a living in the subsurface. For example, Dr. Cardace has estimated that microorganisms should be able to gain energy in the Philippine subsurface by reducing iron or sulfate. Bharathi is working closely with our collaborators in the Philippines, who are focussing on aerobic culturing, to characterize organisms living in these systems.
Caitlin Casar
M.S. candidate, university of illinois at chicago
Caitlin comes to the Philippines Geobiology project and Prof. Meyer-Dombard's laboratory from an undergraduate experience in Dr. Matt Schrenk's Geobiology laboratory [ECU]. She's learning various culturing techniques for the study of metabolisms of organisms in serpentine springs in the Philippines and Coast Range (US. Serpentine springs are considered extreme environments due to their alkaline nature as a result of chemical reactions with ultramafic rocks. Serpentine springs and soils are toxic to many organisms, and the ones that survive in them must be well-adapted. These types of environments may be where life originated on Earth and could be analogues for environments that potentially support life on other planets.
Eman cordillo, JEFFREY MUNAR, KARMINA AQUINO
undergraduates, university of the philippines at diliman
Eman, Jeffrey ("Muni"), and Karmina ("Minay") are three fearless undergraduates who helped us in our research while in the Philippines. These three were our field assistants, note-takers, map-makers, gear-haulers, and happy faces for the whole expedition! Hopefully, we were able to trade their helpfulness for some of our knowledge, as we educated, trained, and passed on our skills in Geobiology field work. Look out, here is the next generation of Geobiologists, ready to take the world by storm! We look forward to working with them again in June 2013.