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Third of Earth's organisms live in rocks,
sediments
Thursday August 09, 2012 12:46:30 AM,
IANS
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London: A third of the
Earth's organisms live in our planet's rocks and sediments - and
the amount could even be greater undersea than what we find on the
surface, scientists say.
Microbiologist James Holden of the University of
Massachusetts-Amherst and his colleagues revealed the first
detailed data on methane-exhaling microbes that live deep in the
rocks and sediments, the Daily Mail reported Wednesdasy.
Just as biologists studied the habitats and life requirements of
giraffes and penguins when they were new to science, Holden says,
"for the first time we're studying these subsurface
micro-organisms, defining their habitat requirements and
determining how they differ among species".
"Evidence has built that there's an incredible amount of biomass
in the Earth's subsurface, in the crust and marine sediments,
perhaps as much as all the plants and animals on the surface,"
said Holden.
"We're interested in the microbes in the deep rock, and the best
place to study them is at hydrothermal vents at undersea
volcanoes. Warm water there brings the nutrient and energy sources
these microbes need," the Mail quoted him as saying.
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