In-situ determination of the spatial and temporal variation of elements and energy in hydrothermal fluids and associated microbial activity

• Applicant: Dr. Frank Wenzhöfer
• Subject Area: Microbial Ecology and Applied Microbiology
• Term: from 2005 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 16338629

One of the key interdisciplinary research goals in the DFG Priority Program RIDGE is to study the interactions between hydrothermal and biological processes. The proposed study will contribute directly to this goal by investigating the transfer of geochemical energy to organisms at hydrothermal vents on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In situ microsensor and flux rate measurements together with studies of microbial process rates will be used to investigate the link between the geochemical energy supply from hydrothermal fluids and vent communities. The physicochemical factors controlling the distribution of hydrothermal vent organisms at a given site will be identified. Microbial processes in vent fluid and/or crusts (e.g. porous chimney walls) fueled by hydrothermally formed reduced substances (sulfide, methane, hydrogen, reduced metals) will be studied. In close collaboration with geologists, geochemists and biologists of SPP1144, we will investigate the influence of different geological settings and gradients in vent fluids on community distribution, composition, and activity. The proposed research will contribute to a better understanding of the coupling between geological and biological processes at slow-spreading ridge systems.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1144: From Mantle to Ocean: Energy, Material and Life Cycles on Spreading Axes