Microbial Turnover of Fixed Nitrogen Compounds in Oceanic Crustal Fluids

Abstract:

Oceanic crust is the largest aquifer on Earth, with a massive volume of seawater advecting through the basaltic crust. The microbiome of this deep marine subsurface biosphere has been estimated to be substantial, and consequently their metabolic activity may have major influences on global biogeochemical cycles.

While earlier and recent studies provide insight into the microbial community composition of oceanic crustal fluids, information on the microbial ecophysiology is broadly missing. Therefore, to investigate the microbial transformation of fixed nitrogen compounds in crustal aquifer fluids, fluids were sampled from different horizons of two neighbouring CORK (Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit) observatories at the North Pond sediment pond. This site is located on the western flank of the Mid Atlantic Ridge and is characterized by relatively young oceanic crust and cold fluids. The crustal fluids contain oxygen and nitrate, which potentially both may serve as electron acceptor for respiration. In a multidisciplinary approach we combined stable isotope incubations, determination of the natural isotopic compositions and plan to analyse relevant functional genes from a metagenomic dataset to investigate the nitrogen cycling at North Pond. The turnover of fixed nitrogen in oceanic crustal fluids may have important implications for the understanding of the global nitrogen cycle.