All articles tagged with #deep subsurface
University of Michigan researchers sampled water from 500 meters below ground and identified 689 fungal species (13 new), plus tardigrades and worms, in a thriving deep subterranean ecosystem that may influence carbon release and storage in shale, challenging the assumption that deep subsurface carbon is inert and prompting a rethink of carbon cycling models.
Scientists analyzing water pumped from the Antrim Shale gas field uncovered a surprisingly rich subterranean ecosystem, including 689 fungal species (13 potentially new), rotifers, worms, tardigrades and other organisms. Fungi from classes Agaricomycetes and Dothideomycetes appear to metabolize hard-to-digest carbon, suggesting a significant role in subsurface carbon cycling. The oxygen conditions are unclear due to sampling methods, but the community has likely been isolated for millennia since the Late Pleistocene. Human extraction and biocides threaten these habitats, highlighting their biodiversity and potential impact on carbon storage models.
A University of Michigan study of water brought up from the Antrim Shale beneath Michigan found surprisingly rich life in deep underground groundwater: one drop contained about 250 fungal cells and 689 fungal species (13 new), plus tardigrades (water bears) and tiny segmented worms, indicating an active underground food web and potential importance for Earth's carbon cycle. Isotope data suggest the ancient water last contacted surface about 11,000 years ago, and researchers are cultivating deep-subsurface fungi and developing tools to study these hidden ecosystems further.
A University of Michigan team found 689 fungal species living in water 1,640 feet beneath Michigan, where the liquid dates back to 11,000 years ago as glacial melt carried surface organisms into the Antrim Shale; the underground ecosystem also hosts tardigrades and worms and may reshape understanding of carbon cycling and potential environmental cleanup applications.