[Mangelsdorf] Biogeochemistry of deep microbial ecosystems in the Mallik Gas Hydrate Research Well, Mackenzie River Delta, Canada

German Title: Biogeochemistry of deep microbial ecosystems in the Mallik Gas Hydrate Research Well, Mackenzie River Delta, Canada

Abbreviation: 122

Current Status: completed


Main Applicant:Dr. Kai Mangelsdorf


Resources Recipient


Other Persons

Prof. Dr. Heinz Wilkes
Prof. Dr. Brian Horsfield


Conveyor Begin:
Conveyor End:
Conveyor Duration:
Year: 2002


Description

In recent years the discovery of ubiquitous microbial life in the deep subsurface has changed our perception of the Earth´s biosphere. First assessments suggest the biomass of this so-called "deep biosphere" is approximately comparable to that of the Earth´s surface, thereby outlining the importance of this widely disseminated hidden world for global geochemical cycles. The opportunity to explore a microbial ecosystem in the deep biosphere in a terrestrial setting near a gas hydrate deposit using organic geochemistry is provided by the Mallik Gas Hydrate Research Well 5L-38, which is located at the northern edge of the Mackenzie River delta (Northern Territories, Canada) in a permafrost region. Our main goal, co-ordinated with a partner project on feedstock generation and networked with colleagues from Canada, USA, India and other scientists at GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, is to elucidate the occurrence and nature of deep microbial ecosystems in the well using biogeochemistry. Both the chemical and isotopic compositions of individual biomarkers will be employed to identify the sources of organic matter detritus and the type of living biomass. Sediments and bacterial cultures will come under detailed investigation.

Related Publications

Haberer, Raingard M., Mangelsdorf, Kai, Wilkes, Heinz, Horsfield, Brian (2006). "Occurrence and palaeoenvironmental significance of aromatic hydrocarbon biomarkers in Oligocene sediments from the Mallik 5L-38 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well (Canada)" Organic Geochemistry 37 p519-538


Mangelsdorf, Kai, Zink, Klaus-Gerhard, Birrien, Jean-Louis, Toffin, Laurent (2005). "A quantitative assessment of pressure dependent adaptive changes in the membrane lipids of a piezosensitive deep sub-seafloor bacterium" Organic Geochemistry 36 p1459-1479


Mangelsdorf, K, Haberer, RM, Zink, K, Dieckmann, V, Wilkes, H, Horsfield, B (2005). "Molecular indicators for the occurrence of deep microbial communities at the JAPEX/JNOC/GSC et al. Mallik 5L-38 Gas Hydrate Production Research Well" BULLETIN-GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA p104