Microbial abundance in lacustrine sediments

  • The ICDP "PaleoVan" drilling campaign at Lake Van, Turkey, provided a long (> 100 m) record of lacustrine subsurface sedimentary microbial cell abundance. After the ICDP campaign at Potrok Aike, Argentina, this is only the second time deep lacustrine cell counts have been documented. Two sites were cored and revealed a strikingly similar cell distribution despite differences in organic matter content and microbial activity. Although shifted towards higher values, cell counts from Lake Potrok Aike, Argentina, reveal very similar distribution patterns with depth. The lacustrine cell count data are significantly different from published marine records; the most probable cause is differences in sedimentary organic matter composition with marine sediments containing a higher fraction of labile organic matter. Previous studies showed that microbial activity and abundance increase centimetres to metres around geologic interfaces. The finely laminated Lake Van sediment allowed studying this phenomenon on the microscale. We sampled at theThe ICDP "PaleoVan" drilling campaign at Lake Van, Turkey, provided a long (> 100 m) record of lacustrine subsurface sedimentary microbial cell abundance. After the ICDP campaign at Potrok Aike, Argentina, this is only the second time deep lacustrine cell counts have been documented. Two sites were cored and revealed a strikingly similar cell distribution despite differences in organic matter content and microbial activity. Although shifted towards higher values, cell counts from Lake Potrok Aike, Argentina, reveal very similar distribution patterns with depth. The lacustrine cell count data are significantly different from published marine records; the most probable cause is differences in sedimentary organic matter composition with marine sediments containing a higher fraction of labile organic matter. Previous studies showed that microbial activity and abundance increase centimetres to metres around geologic interfaces. The finely laminated Lake Van sediment allowed studying this phenomenon on the microscale. We sampled at the scale of individual laminae, and in some depth intervals, we found large differences in microbial abundance between the different laminae. This small-scale heterogeneity is normally overlooked due to much larger sampling intervals that integrate over several centimetres. However, not all laminated intervals exhibit such large differences in microbial abundance, and some non-laminated horizons show large variability on the millimetre scale as well. The reasons for such contrasting observations remain elusive, but indicate that heterogeneity of microbial abundance in subsurface sediments has not been taken into account sufficiently. These findings have implications not just for microbiological studies but for geochemistry as well, as the large differences in microbial abundance clearly show that there are distinct microhabitats that deviate considerably from the surrounding layers.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author details:Jens KallmeyerORCiDGND, Sina GreweGND, Clemens GlombitzaORCiD, J. Axel Kitte
URN:urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-429828
DOI:https://doi.org/10.25932/publishup-42982
ISSN:1866-8372
Title of parent work (German):Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe
Subtitle (English):a case study from Lake Van, Turkey
Publication series (Volume number):Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe (723)
Publication type:Postprint
Language:English
Date of first publication:2019/06/14
Publication year:2015
Publishing institution:Universität Potsdam
Release date:2019/06/14
Tag:Lake Van; cell counts; deep biosphere; lacustrine sediment; subsurface biosphere
Issue:723
Number of pages:11
First page:1667
Last Page:1677
Source:International Journal of Earth Sciences 104 (2015) 6, S. 1667–1677 DOI: 10.1007/s00531-015-1219-6
Organizational units:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Geowissenschaften
DDC classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften
Peer review:Referiert
Publishing method:Open Access
Institution name at the time of the publication:Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften
License (German):License LogoCC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International
External remark:Bibliographieeintrag der Originalveröffentlichung/Quelle
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