Sunday, March 24, 2013

Microbes flourish at deepest ocean site

At the bottom of the Pacific ocean, there are small bacteria that are not only living, but thriving. They are doing this despite an enormous amount of pressure pushing down on them and low oxygen levels. This is surprising because through studies by the Woods Hole Oceanographic institution it has been shown that these organisms consume more oxygen than those living in shallower, more oxygen rich areas. Another thing that researchers noticed is that there was much more food available to the bacteria than researchers had previously thought. Much of this food is in the form of dead fish that have sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Experts expect to find similar occurrances in other trenches around the world. There are still many questions as to how they survive because it is a hard area to get to and study.


http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349041/description/Microbes_flourish_at_deepest_ocean_site

NOS Themes

  • Science is based on evidence
  • Science is tentative
  • Role of chance
  • Role of motivation and curiosity
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 24, 2013 at 12:35 PM

    This was a very interesting post because it is weird to think microbes can thrive with all that pressure without sun or oxygen. Another article I read also mentioned that this presence of life in the deep ocean shows how carbon dioxide, which is necessary for the growth of marine plants at the ocean surface, can eventually get buried in the depths.
    This new finding of life is supporting the theory that dead plants and fish falling on the steep sides of the Mariana Trench often slide to the bottom for the microbes. Also, earthquakes trigger mudslides to carry it down.

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  2. AnonymousMarch 24, 2013 at 12:36 PM

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  3. AnonymousMarch 24, 2013 at 3:41 PM

    It is surprising to see how much research has been done on microbes. In the article I found, researchers are analyzing other trenches to discover where bacterial activity is also high. As well as this, it is interesting how certain scientists propose that the genetics of microbe in the Mariana Trench may differ with the genetics of other microbes.

    http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/17/17348487-microbes-thrive-in-deepest-spot-on-earth?lite

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