High rates of microbial carbon turnover in sediments in the deepest oceanic trench on Earth

Ronnie N. Glud; Frank Wenzhöfer; Mathias Middelboe; Kazumasa Oguri; Robert Turnewitsch; Donald Eugene Canfield; Hiroshi Kitazato

doi:10.1038/ngeo1773

High rates of microbial carbon turnover in sediments in the deepest oceanic trench on Earth

Ronnie N. Glud, Frank Wenzhöfer, Mathias Middelboe, Kazumasa Oguri, Robert Turnewitsch, Donald Eugene Canfield, Hiroshi Kitazato

Marine Biology

157 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Microbes control the decomposition of organic matter inmarine sediments. Decomposition, in turn, contributes to oceanic nutrient regeneration and influences the preservation of organic carbon. Generally, rates of benthic decomposition decline with increasing water depth, although given the vast extent of the abyss, deep-sea sediments are quantitatively important for the global carbon cycle. However, the deepest regions of the ocean have remained virtually unexplored. Here, we present observations of microbial activity in sediments at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the central west Pacific, which at almost 11,000 m depth represents the deepest oceanic site on Earth. We used an autonomous micro-profiling system to assess benthic oxygen consumption rates. We show that although the presence of macrofauna is restricted at Challenger Deep, rates of biological consumption of oxygen are high, exceeding rates at a nearby 6,000-m-deep site by a factor of two. Consistently, analyses of sediments collected from the two sites reveal higher concentrations of microbial cells at Challenger Deep. Furthermore, analyses of sediment 210 Pb profiles reveal relatively high sediment deposition in the trench. We conclude that the elevated deposition of organic matter at Challenger Deep maintains intensified microbial activity at the extreme pressures that characterize this environment.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature Geoscience
Volume	6
Pages (from-to)	284-288
Number of pages	5
ISSN	1752-0894
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1773
Publication status	Published - Apr 2013

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title = "High rates of microbial carbon turnover in sediments in the deepest oceanic trench on Earth",

abstract = "Microbes control the decomposition of organic matter inmarine sediments. Decomposition, in turn, contributes to oceanic nutrient regeneration and influences the preservation of organic carbon. Generally, rates of benthic decomposition decline with increasing water depth, although given the vast extent of the abyss, deep-sea sediments are quantitatively important for the global carbon cycle. However, the deepest regions of the ocean have remained virtually unexplored. Here, we present observations of microbial activity in sediments at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the central west Pacific, which at almost 11,000 m depth represents the deepest oceanic site on Earth. We used an autonomous micro-profiling system to assess benthic oxygen consumption rates. We show that although the presence of macrofauna is restricted at Challenger Deep, rates of biological consumption of oxygen are high, exceeding rates at a nearby 6,000-m-deep site by a factor of two. Consistently, analyses of sediments collected from the two sites reveal higher concentrations of microbial cells at Challenger Deep. Furthermore, analyses of sediment 210 Pb profiles reveal relatively high sediment deposition in the trench. We conclude that the elevated deposition of organic matter at Challenger Deep maintains intensified microbial activity at the extreme pressures that characterize this environment.",

author = "Glud, {Ronnie N.} and Frank Wenzh{\"o}fer and Mathias Middelboe and Kazumasa Oguri and Robert Turnewitsch and Canfield, {Donald Eugene} and Hiroshi Kitazato",

year = "2013",

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doi = "10.1038/ngeo1773",

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journal = "Nature Geoscience",

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T1 - High rates of microbial carbon turnover in sediments in the deepest oceanic trench on Earth

AU - Glud, Ronnie N.

AU - Wenzhöfer, Frank

AU - Middelboe, Mathias

AU - Oguri, Kazumasa

AU - Turnewitsch, Robert

AU - Canfield, Donald Eugene

AU - Kitazato, Hiroshi

PY - 2013/4

Y1 - 2013/4

N2 - Microbes control the decomposition of organic matter inmarine sediments. Decomposition, in turn, contributes to oceanic nutrient regeneration and influences the preservation of organic carbon. Generally, rates of benthic decomposition decline with increasing water depth, although given the vast extent of the abyss, deep-sea sediments are quantitatively important for the global carbon cycle. However, the deepest regions of the ocean have remained virtually unexplored. Here, we present observations of microbial activity in sediments at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the central west Pacific, which at almost 11,000 m depth represents the deepest oceanic site on Earth. We used an autonomous micro-profiling system to assess benthic oxygen consumption rates. We show that although the presence of macrofauna is restricted at Challenger Deep, rates of biological consumption of oxygen are high, exceeding rates at a nearby 6,000-m-deep site by a factor of two. Consistently, analyses of sediments collected from the two sites reveal higher concentrations of microbial cells at Challenger Deep. Furthermore, analyses of sediment 210 Pb profiles reveal relatively high sediment deposition in the trench. We conclude that the elevated deposition of organic matter at Challenger Deep maintains intensified microbial activity at the extreme pressures that characterize this environment.

AB - Microbes control the decomposition of organic matter inmarine sediments. Decomposition, in turn, contributes to oceanic nutrient regeneration and influences the preservation of organic carbon. Generally, rates of benthic decomposition decline with increasing water depth, although given the vast extent of the abyss, deep-sea sediments are quantitatively important for the global carbon cycle. However, the deepest regions of the ocean have remained virtually unexplored. Here, we present observations of microbial activity in sediments at Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the central west Pacific, which at almost 11,000 m depth represents the deepest oceanic site on Earth. We used an autonomous micro-profiling system to assess benthic oxygen consumption rates. We show that although the presence of macrofauna is restricted at Challenger Deep, rates of biological consumption of oxygen are high, exceeding rates at a nearby 6,000-m-deep site by a factor of two. Consistently, analyses of sediments collected from the two sites reveal higher concentrations of microbial cells at Challenger Deep. Furthermore, analyses of sediment 210 Pb profiles reveal relatively high sediment deposition in the trench. We conclude that the elevated deposition of organic matter at Challenger Deep maintains intensified microbial activity at the extreme pressures that characterize this environment.

U2 - 10.1038/ngeo1773

DO - 10.1038/ngeo1773

M3 - Letter

SN - 1752-0894

VL - 6

SP - 284

EP - 288

JO - Nature Geoscience

JF - Nature Geoscience

ER -

High rates of microbial carbon turnover in sediments in the deepest oceanic trench on Earth

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