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Podemos encontrar microorganismos del mar profundo reposando en tumbas que ellos mismos construyeron

Imagen principal: Alvin – un vehículo de ocupación humana (VOH) sumergible diseñado para permitir la recolección de datos a profundidades hasta 6,500 m por debajo de la superficie del océano. Imágen principal cortesía de John Magyar, Caltech.

Artículo: Precipitación de sílice inducida por microorganismos en un consorcio de oxidadores anaeróbicos de metano e implicaciones para la preservación de fósiles microbianos

Autores: Daniela Osorio-Rodriguez, Kyle S. Metcalfe, Shawn E. McGlynn, Hang Yu, Anne E. Dekas, Mark Ellisman, Tom Deerinck, Ludmilla Aristilde, John P. Grotzinger, and Victoria J. Orphan

Tal vez un fin de semana en tu vida, te encuentres apilado en un vehículo todoterreno a las 6 de la mañana con otros siete estudiantes, registrando intermitentemente el dron de un profesor de geología demasiado entusiasta cuya clase tomaste para llenar un requisito de tu programa. Si es así, en ese vehículo con certeza se pronunció la proclamación “el presente es la clave del pasado”. Un estudio reciente conducido por Daniela Osorio-Rodriguez y colaboradores epitomiza el poder de esas palabras. 

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Revelando los misterios del magma

La comprensión del comportamiento del magma puede predecir erupciones y revelar paisajes históricos

Por: Ellen Beshuk

Algunas veces el magma fluye en calma; otras veces, explota. La candidata a Ph.D. Ivana Torres-Ewert trata de entender por qué con su máquina de hacer magma en la Universidad de Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Sus descubrimientos podrían ayudar a la comunidad a saber a dónde ir cuando un volcán explota y proporcionar un soporte para otras investigaciones sobre volcanes.

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Los impactos del calentamiento global en el almacenamiento de carbono en el suelo, la biodiversidad y el rendimiento de los cultivos

Crédito de la imagen: Dominio público (Pexels)

Artículo: La pérdida de carbono orgánico del suelo disminuye la biodiversidad, pero estimula interacciones multitróficas que promueven el metabolismo en el subsuelo.

Autores: Ye Li, Zengming Chen, Cameron Wagg, Michael J. Castellano, Nan Zhang, Weixin Ding.

Pocos problemas son tan urgentes y relevantes para el futuro de nuestra especie como el cambio climático. Cuando consideramos sus devastadores impactos, lo primero en lo que pensamos es en glaciares y osos polares. Sin embargo, una nueva investigación enfoca nuestra atención en organismos mucho más pequeños, los microorganismos, como protagonistas principales en la estabilidad del suelo y la prevención del colapso de la agricultura bajo el calentamiento global. 

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We may find deep-sea microbes resting in tombs they built themselves

Featured Image: Alvin – a submersible Human Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) designed to allow data collection at depths up to 6,500 m below the ocean surface. Featured image courtesy of John Magyar, Caltech.

Paper: Microbially induced precipitation of silica by anaerobic methane-oxidizing consortia and implications for microbial fossil preservation

Authors: Daniela Osorio-Rodriguez, Kyle S. Metcalfe, Shawn E. McGlynn, Hang Yu, Anne E. Dekas, Mark Ellisman, Tom Deerinck, Ludmilla Aristilde, John P. Grotzinger, and Victoria J. Orphan

Maybe one weekend in your life, you found yourself piling into an SUV at 6 AM with seven other students, intermittently registering the drone of an overenthusiastic geology professor whose course you took to fulfill a degree requirement. If so, in that vehicle, the proclamation that “the present is the key to the past” was certainly uttered. A recent study conducted by Daniela Osorio-Rodriguez and collaborators epitomizes the power of those words.

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Unlocking Magma’s Mysteries

Understanding magma’s behavior may predict eruptions and reveal historic landscapes

By: Ellen Beshuk

Sometimes magma calmly flows; other times, it explodes. Ph.D. candidate Ivana Torres-Ewert is figuring out why with her magma-making machine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Her discoveries could help people know where to go when a volcano explodes and provide a foundation for further volcanic research.

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Impacts of global warming on soil carbon storage, biodiversity, and crop yields

Image credit: Public Domain (Pexels)

Paper: Soil organic carbon loss decreases biodiversity but stimulates multitrophic interactions that promote belowground metabolism.

Authors: Ye Li, Zengming Chen, Cameron Wagg, Michael J. Castellano, Nan Zhang, Weixin Ding.

Few issues are as pressing and relevant for the future of our own species as climate change. We may think first about glaciers and polar bears when we consider its devastating impacts. However, new research brings our attention to much smaller organisms, microbes, as major players in stabilizing soils and preventing agriculture from collapsing under global warming.

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Nuevo soporte para el origen de la vida en fumarolas hidrotermales alcalinas

Imagen de la portada: Tapetes blancos floculantes dentro y alrededor de fumarolas blancas extremadamente gaseosas de alta temperatura (>100°C, 212°F) en la Fumarola Champagne. Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0 a través de wikimedia commons.

Artículo: Chimeneas de óxidos blancos y verdes acumulan ARN en un jardín químico ferruginoso.

Autores: Vanessa Helmbrecht, Maximilian Weingart, Frieder Klein, Dieter Braun, William D. Orsi

Cuando pensamos en mundos extraterrestres, posiblemente evocamos una imágen de vastos oceános con estructuras altas verticales dispersas, como columnas o torres. Al observar imágenes de fumarolas hidrotermales alcalinas, te darás cuenta de que esos mundos extraterrestres no existen solamente en las películas de ciencia ficción. Las fumarolas hidrotermales alcalinas son ambientes marinos profundos abundantes en la Tierra hace más de 4000 millones de años, caracterizados por chimeneas blancas globulares y puntiagudas que se elevan desde el fondo del mar.  Ofrecen una combinación de condiciones químicas en las que pueden haber surgido las primeras formas de vida en la Tierra. Sin embargo, las fumarolas hidrotermales alcalinas se han considerado inhóspitas para la formación de ácidos nucleicos, las moléculas que almacenan información en todas las células vivas. Un artículo nuevo de investigadores de LMU Munich reta esta suposición al proporcionar evidencia clave para la estabilización de ácidos nucleicos en fumarolas hidrotermales alcalinas, un descubrimiento que podría hacer estos ambientes los candidatos más adecuados para el origen de la vida en la Tierra.

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New support for the origin of life in alkaline hydrothermal vents

Featured image: White flocculent mats in and around the extremely gassy, high-temperature (>100°C, 212°F) white smokers at Champagne Vent. Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0 via. wikimedia commons.

Paper: White and green rust chimneys accumulate RNA in a ferruginous chemical garden

Authors: Vanessa Helmbrecht, Maximilian Weingart, Frieder Klein, Dieter Braun, William D. Orsi

When we think of alien worlds, we may evoke an image of vast oceans with tall scattered vertical structures, like columns or towers. By looking at pictures of alkaline hydrothermal vents, you will realize that such alien worlds do not just exist in science fiction movies. Alkaline hydrothermal vents are deep ocean environments widespread on Earth more than 4 billion years ago, in which light globular and spiky chimneys rise from the dark ocean floor. They offer a combination of chemical conditions that may have supported the first forms of life on Earth. However, alkaline hydrothermal vents have been considered inhospitable for the formation of nucleic acids, the information-storage molecules present in all living cells. A new paper from researchers at LMU Munich challenges this assumption by providing critical evidence for the stabilization of nucleic acids in alkaline hydrothermal vents, a discovery that would make these environments the most suitable candidates for the origin of life on Earth.

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Making Mountains Out of Molehills? Long-Term Geomorphic Surface Impacts of Mountaintop Removal Mining

Featured Image:  Mountaintop removal mining site in Appalachia. Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0 via. wikimedia commons.

Report: Peripheral gully and landslide erosion on an extreme anthropogenic landscape produced by mountaintop removal coal mining (2020)

Authors: Miles Reed & Dr. Steve Kite

There’s a general consensus that coal mining is ‘bad’ for the environment, but beyond carbon emissions, what is its visible, physical impact on our surroundings? What lasting damage does mining create on the Earth’s surface? The answer is that it has a tremendous impact; specifically, mining in Appalachia is linked to distorting the natural flow of water on the landscape, which creates ripple (no pun intended) effects on the greater environment. A recent study by Reed and Kite details those effects on Appalachian landscapes, directly linking mountaintop mining to erosion and landslides. Now, as worries about access to safe, clean water being jeopardized by fossil fuel production abound nationwide, exploring the impacts of mountaintop mining on Appalachian freshwater becomes incredibly important with immediate and personal impacts.

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How Much is War Fuelling the Climate Crisis?

Featured Image: Global militaries are a major contributor to climate change, however, we face many challenges when assessing their environmental footprint. Copyright: CC BY-SA 4.0 via. wikimedia commons.

Report: Estimating the Military’s Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2022)

Authors: Dr. Stuart Parkinson & Linsey Cottrell

Organisations: Scientists for Global Responsibility & Conflict and Environment Observatory

War is likely to worsen in the near-future as climate change forces more disasters, political instability, and poverty onto the planet and strains resource supplies. Yet war is not just a product of climate change: it is also a major cause. In addition to the societal devastation it creates, militarism is a major emitter of greenhouse gases and contributor to environmental degradation. Politicking from the worst emitters has ensured that military emissions are shielded from the same type of accountability seen across other sectors such as agriculture, transport, land use, technology, and waste. For example, the latest installment of the IPCC report barely mentioned military emissions despite its immensely detailed analysis of other sectors. A recent report from Stuart Parkinson (Scientists for Global Responsibility) and Linsey Cottrell (Conflict and Environment Observatory) helps correct this oversight and unpacks the impact of war on climate change.

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