| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | August 31, 2010 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | October 1, 2010 |
| Award Number: | 1031120 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Kandace Binkley
kbinkley@nsf.gov (703)292-7577 OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | September 1, 2010 |
| End Date: | August 31, 2013 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $400,360.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $400,360.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
200 CENTRAL PARK W NEW YORK NY US 10024-5102 (212)769-5975 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
200 CENTRAL PARK W NEW YORK NY US 10024-5102 |
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Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| NSF Program(s): | OCEAN TECH & INTERDISC COORDIN |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Bacteria and archaea account for half the biomass on Earth and drive major biogeochemical cycles, due to their ability to catalyze a broad spectrum of chemical reactions. They form the basis of various ecosystems, yet our understanding of the functioning of the microbial communities in many of these environments is still limited.
This is particularly true for deep ocean sediments, which harbor a significant portion of the microbial biosphere existing under elevated hydrostatic pressure (up to 110 MPa; 1086 atm) and low temperatures. This prevents many, if not most microorganisms from these environments from being cultured in the laboratory, suggesting that we have only scratched the surface of the metabolic potential and the extent of physiological diversity of the microbial communities inhabiting these environments. From a biogeochemical standpoint, hydrostatic pressure can also dramatically influence chemical gradients within microbial ecosystems, in particular in gas- and gas-hydrate bearing deep-sea sediments. Preservation of sediment samples from these environments is a particular challenge in that the time between sampling and retrieval can be hours and changes in pressure, temperature can result in substantial out-gassing that destroys the structural integrity of the retrieved sediment sample as well as changes the composition and activity of the contained microbial communities. The Deep Ocean Benthic Sampler (DOBS) possesses a capability that is unique to the fields of deep-sea microbial ecology and biogeochemistry, the ability to obtain a contamination-free core and preserve in situ conditions of pressure and temperature upon retrieval to the ship.
The PI?s propose to develop Deep Ocean Benthic Sampler (DOBS) into a routine instrument that can be used by the oceanographic community to obtain undisturbed sediment cores maintained under in situ conditions for biogeochemical and microbiological analyses.
Broader Impacts:
This is a novel technology that is of interest for a broad range of researchers from several fields of science. The knowledge gain will not remain in a distinct community of scientists but will be of interest for a wide variety of scientists as well as or the public. Given that the deep sea is the largest ecosystem on earth, our knowledge about deep sea habitats is very limited at present. The authors take good care of educational programs for undergraduate and graduate students including females and minorities. Ample public outreach of the exciting science will be achieved.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Collaborative Research: Integration of Deep Ocean Benthic Sampler Technology with Microbial Biogeochemistry of Methane Seeps and Isolation of Piezophilic Deep-Sea Sediment Microbes.
Craig Taylor & Stefan Sievert (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Richard Sheryll & Robert DeSalle (American Museum of Natural History)
Ocean Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination Program. Grant #1031302
The Deep Ocean Benthic Sampler (DOBS) possesses a capability that is unique to the fields of deep-sea microbial ecology and biogeochemistry, the ability to obtain a contamination-free core and preserve in situ conditions of pressure and temperature upon retrieval to the ship. The application of proposed mechanisms for obtaining multiple sub-cores at various depth horizons within the retrieved core samples, in the absence of decompression, permits in concert a) accurate assessment of the gaseous and chemical gradients within methane seep samples without being disturbed by the “homogenizing” out-gassing that typically occurs in such samples when collected by conventional coring operations and b) the phylogenetic (DNA, rRNA, functional (mRNA) molecular study and culture of the resident microbiota using high pressure hardware available within the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
Objectives: The primary objective in 2013 was to deploy the DOBS for the first time in deep water >2000 meters and test full functionality of its operations and the associated surface handling equipment for subsampling pressurized media. Results from this cruse will be used in streamlining the process of deploying the DOBS and its associated equipment.
The Deep Ocean Benthic Sampler (DOBS): to our knowledge is the first design of its type capable of taking uncontaminated pressure and temperature retaining sediment core samples. The DOBS can be configured for many different types of sampling operations it is not limited to sediment core samples, it can also be used as an instrumentation platform for long term (years) deployment of sensors for geochemical, geophysical and biogeochemical measurements. In addition to this it can be used as a military sentinel for monitoring undersea activity with the ability to deploy specific sensors upon request.
The DOBS primary use is for discovery; organisms which live in the deep-sea are incredibly hard to study because of the harsh environment. Pressures can be as great as 16,000 pounds per square inch; the water temperature is just about freezing and organisms living in an environment with no light reaching them from the surface. This makes observing and studying animals at the bottom of the ocean a very formidable task. DOBS and its associated surface handling equipment circumvent this difficulty by maintaining the environment the organisms were living in inside of the DOBS. Once the DOBS is brought to the surface, the associated surface handling equipment (which was specifically developed for this project), allows us to transfer the organisms and their environment into different units to perform specific experiments. One piece of equipment the Core Subsampling Unit (CSU) can withdraw pressurized subsample from the DOBS while maintaining the native environment the sample was taken at. These subsamples can then be transfer into other units for different types of research. To study what the microbial community are doing at the bottom of the ocean using molecular techniques we have developed a device called the Freeze Assembly. This piece of equipment allows us to fix the organisms (by freezing them using liquid nitrogen) in-situ so that we can see what the...
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