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NSF PA/M 01-15 - April 12, 2001
"Microbes Deep Within South African Gold Mines" Subject
of NSF Lecture
Scientist Tullis Onstott of Princeton University will
speak on subsurface microbial communities that live
deep within the gold mines of South Africa at the
National Science Foundation (NSF) on April 24. In
these mines, adjacent to gold deposits, microorganisms
live in water circulating through fissures in the
earth's crust more than three kilometers deep. At
the bottom of the mines, atmospheric pressure is double
that of the surface, and temperatures reach some 120
degrees Fahrenheit.
Scientists have identified microbial communities in
various crustal environments down to 2,800 meters
below the surface. Only a very few samples of deep-living
microbes in continental (non-oceanic) crust exist,
however, because coring is expensive. The gold mines
of South Africa provide a unique opportunity to study
microbes at depths ranging from 2,000 to 3,500 meters
below the surface.
Onstott will discuss recent discoveries and plans for
the future. Onstott's research is funded by NSF's
Life in Extreme Environments (LExEn) program.
Who: |
Scientist Tullis Onstott, Princeton University
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What: |
Lecture on microbes in South African gold
mines how do they survive? |
When: |
10:00 a.m.
Tuesday, April 24, 2001 |
Where: |
NSF headquarters, Room 110
Arlington, Virginia (Ballston Metro stop)
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Dybas (703) 292-8070/cdybas@nsf.gov
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