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Microbial Life in Extreme Environments: Linking Geological and Microbiological Processes

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Book cover Links Between Geological Processes, Microbial Activities&Evolution of Life

Part of the book series: Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences ((MASE,volume 4))

Abstract

The last decade has seen extraordinary growth of Geomicrobiology, the interdisciplinary field between Geology and Microbiology. Microorganisms have been studied in numerous extreme environments on Earth, ranging from crystalline rocks from the deep subsurface, hypersaline lakes, to dry deserts and deep-ocean hydrothermal vent systems. This chapter reviews several active research frontiers in Geomicrobiology that demonstrate the importance of linking geological and microbiological processes in such studies: deep continental subsurface microbiology, microbial ecology in saline lakes, microbial formation of dolomite, geomicrobiology in dry deserts, fossil DNA and its use in paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and microbial weathering of oceanic crust. The author has no intention to provide a comprehensive review of all areas of Geomicrobiology, as this daunting task deserves a dedicated book on its own.

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  1. Department of Geology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Hailiang Dong

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  1. Department of Geology, Miami University, 114 Shideler Hall, Oxford OH 45056, USA

    Yildirim Dilek

  2. Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allegaten 41, 5007 Bergen, Norway

    Harald Furnes

  3. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, 1-26 Earth Sciences Bldg, Edmonton AB T6G 2E3, Canada

    Karlis Muehlenbachs

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Dong, H. (2008). Microbial Life in Extreme Environments: Linking Geological and Microbiological Processes. In: Dilek, Y., Furnes, H., Muehlenbachs, K. (eds) Links Between Geological Processes, Microbial Activities&Evolution of Life. Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8306-8_8

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