Скачать или смотреть Going underground; how the subsurface microbiome may offer the key to unlocking sustainable life

Going underground; how the subsurface microbiome may offer the key to unlocking sustainable life

J. Lloyd, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Manchester, UK

The subsurface is a largely uncharted frontier with a unique and complex biosphere. Interest is intensifying around the energy sources that sustain microbial life at depth, and also the impact of perturbations applied during exploitation of the subsurface. In this talk I will draw on research from our group in Manchester on microbial metal reduction by subsurface bacteria, to illustrate how microbial metabolism can be harnessed for a range of applications spanning the remediation of sediments and water contaminated by metals, radionuclides and toxic organics through to the production of novel high value engineered nanomaterials. I will also introduce new work on the potential impacts of anaerobic microbes on geodisposal plans for nuclear wastes.
These latter studies illustrate the critical importance of improving our understanding of the baseline complexities of the deep subsurface biosphere, and quantifying how it will respond to the perturbations applied during processes including not only: (i) the safe deep geodisposal of nuclear waste, but also (ii) underground carbon capture and storage, (iii) energy storage and geothermal energy abstraction, and (iv) controversial fracking technologies for the abstraction of E-tech metals via in situ mining (and non-conventional gas extraction, where practiced). These processes are required to address some of the most significant sustainability challenges that we face in the 21st century, and microbial processes have the potential to “make or break” their effectiveness. In some cases, the deep biosphere could offer attenuating processes to safeguard surface ecosystem function and water quality, but equally they have the potential to degrade the engineering infrastructure required for their delivery. Therefore, unlocking the secrets of the deep subsurface biosphere gives us the opportunity to understand some of the most exotic biochemistry found on Earth, while contributing to the sustainable use of a key resource, the subsurface, which will be critical for our long-term survival on this planet.