Our Research Topics
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Biological activities, chemical environments, and material cycle at the Sediment-Water Interface
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The Sediment-Water Interface (SWI) is characterized by a sharp
chemical gradient from the overlying water to seafloor sediment.
Protozoans (Benthic Foraminifera) and microbes have adapted
to this steep chemical gradient by developing specific metabolic
systems. Consequently, their metabolic pathways drive the organic
matter consumption across the SWI. The Geobiology Research Team
focuses on the roles of this chemically and biologically coupled
system at the SWI in the geobiosphere in the past and
future. We use three main approaches: 1) long-term in situ
observations of the chemical environment using underwater cable
network systems; 2) in situ incubation experiments to measure the
metabolic activity and carbon consumption of sediment
communities; and 3) laboratory culture of model organisms in
precisely controlled environments to observe and evaluate proxy
chemical evolution at the SWI.
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Copyright @ Geobiology Research team, BioGeos, JAMSTEC