Transcript Emerge from Advances in: Understanding of

Opportunities in Global Change &
Geobiology/Biogeochemistry
Emerge from Advances in:
• Understanding of systems & processes
• Analytical capabilities & instrumentation
• Interdisciplinary collaborations & synergies
• that stimulate innovative questions, prompt new
research strategies, and facilitate discoveries
further guided by funding initiatives.
Simon Brassell
[email protected]
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the
Future of Science, April 25-27 2007
Understanding of Systems & Process
Examples of Focal Points:
• Rapid climate change & extreme climates:
• Multiproxy approach - isotopes and molecules.
• Reconstruction of dynamics of transitions.
• Biogeochemical cycling & interactions:
• Integrated assessment of dependencies.
• Microbial communities & energy sources:
• Deep biosphere, life without light, Martian analogs.
• Connections to Earth & evolutionary history.
Simon Brassell
[email protected]
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the
Future of Science, April 25-27 2007
Analytical Capabilities
Citius-Minimus-Perquisitius:
• Faster, with less, more accurately.
• Focus: Biomacromolecules & rare isotopes.
• Spatial: Intracellular functions & active interfaces.
• Temporal: Rates; High-resolution stratigraphy.
• Centers and distributed instrumentation.
• Innovative developments at state-of-the-art facilities.
• Dispersed application of measurements & protocols.
• Development of data bases & geoinformatics.
Simon Brassell
[email protected]
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the
Future of Science, April 25-27 2007
Interdisciplinary Collaborations
Convincing Others of Geologic Relevance:
• Global Climate Change - connecting threads:
• Disparate temporal scales of environmental impacts.
• Record of biological processes over deep time:
• Evolutionary outcomes connect extant & extinct life.
• Conservatism of biogeochemical pathways.
• Public outreach to scientific community.
• Serendipity.
Simon Brassell
[email protected]
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the
Future of Science, April 25-27 2007
Preservation of Ancient Biomolecules
Molecular
fragments
help
verify
evolutionary
lineages
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Schweitzer,
Asara &
Horner,
2007
CRETACEOUS
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the
Future of Science, April 25-27 2007
Microbial Diversity
Nitrogen Cycling:
Representation
of Anammox
cells
• Recognition of ammoniumoxidizing bacteria.
• Toxic intermediates: hydrazine
(N2H4), hydroxylamine (NH2OH).
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
“Radiation Eaters”:
• Radiation generated H2O2
breaks down pyrite yielding
Stacking of ladderane
sulfates.
• Web archive
Simon Brassell
[email protected]
membrane lipids
Sinninghe-Damsté et al.
Connecting Geoscience Departments to the
Future of Science, April 25-27 2007
Cyanobacteria: [O2] & N2 Fixation
Critical change
in N2-fixing
cyanobacteria
associated with
increasing
levels of O2:
adaptive
biochemistry
Biota Adapted to Ocean Dysoxia
Nitrogen Cycling:
Hopanoids & 2Mehopanoids
Only hopanoids
N2 fixers
Do not fix N2
• Co-occurrence of N2fixation, 2-Mehopanes.
• Dysoxic ocean conditions
favor non-heterocystous
cyanobacteria, comparable
with processes during
atmospheric oxygenation.
Cyanobacterial Types
I – Unicellular (binary fission);
I – Unicellular (multiple fission)
III – Filamentous non-heterocystous
IV – Filamentous non-branching heterocystous
V – Filamentous branching heterocystous
Phylogeny
based on
16S RNA
(Summons et al, 1999;
Tomitani et al. 2006)