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A microbial garden beneath the seafloor, Ridge Crest.

A microbial garden beneath the seafloor, Ridge Crest.
A microbial garden beneath the seafloor, Ridge Crest.
A microbial garden beneath the seafloor, Ridge Crest.
A microbial garden beneath the seafloor, Ridge Crest.
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596876
Doucette, Jayne H.
A microbial garden beneath the seafloor, Ridge Crest.
Illustration
05/24/2006
Ridge Crest2.jpg
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 42, No. 2, Pg. 76:
Recent discoveries have raised the possibility of a huge and diverse subsurface biosphere of microbial life. Below the ocean floor, a variety of chemical reactions between seawater and rocks, taking place over a range of temperatures, creates a chemical bouillabaisse. These chemicals diffuse upward and become sources of energy and carbon that sustain a wide variety of microbes. The microbes have evolved to take advantage of specific conditions in particular niches.
Illustration by Jayne Doucette
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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