Fluid Flow Stimulates Chemosynthesis in a Greek Salad of Hydrothermal Microbes

Credit: Photo credit: Dr. Costantino Vetriani, Rutgers University

WHOI’s Phil Arevalo (left) and Stefan Sievert remove one of the incubation devices used to measure the activities of the chemosynthetic microbes from the sediment. The incubation devices were originally built in the 1980’s by WHOI’s Carl Wirsen and Holger Jannasch and were part of a free-falling instrument to measure the activities of microorganisms breaking down organic matter in deep-sea sediments. For the present study, they were adapted to be used by scuba divers.

« Fluid Flow Stimulates Chemosynthesis in a Greek Salad of Hydrothermal Microbes

Credit: Photo credit: Dr. Roy Price, Stony Brook University

When conditions are calm, the mats can grow up to an inch in thickness. During storms, the mats get swept away, providing a mechanism to export the produced biomass to the surrounding ocean, where it can serve as food for organisms.

« Fluid Flow Stimulates Chemosynthesis in a Greek Salad of Hydrothermal Microbes

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