# Presentation: 074252

## Exploring Earth's ExtremesLife and Living in the Earth’s Extreme Environments

**Directorate for Engineering**** **

## Exploring Earth’s Extremes:Activities in NSF’s Division of Ocean Sciences

- Science
- Infrastructure
- Technology Development

## Scientific Programs Exploring Earth's Ocean Extremes

**Scientific Programs Exploring Earth's Ocean Extremes**

**LExEn: Life in Extreme Environments**
**RIDGE:  Ridge Interdisciplinary Global Experiments**
**ODP: Ocean Drilling **
**	****Program**
**Biocomplexity**
**Time-Series Science**

## LExEn: Life in Extreme Environments1997-2003

**NSF-wide program (w/ NASA participation in 1999-2000)**
**Objectives:**
**- exploring the relationships between organisms and the environments within which they exist, with a strong emphasis upon those life-supporting environments that exist near the extremes of planetary conditions. **
**- exploring planetary environments in our own solar system and beyond to help identify possible sites for life. **
** ****93 awards made for interdisciplinary, collaborative research spanning the period 1997-2003 (for links to abstracts, go to **_[http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/lexen/start.htm](http://www.nsf.gov/home/crssprgm/lexen/start.htm)__)_
**Ocean Science Emphasis:  Deep Biosphere**

## LExEn Accomplishments (Ocean Sciences)

**Augmenting research emphases articulated in RIDGE and the Ocean Drilling Program (one of the initial reasons for developing the LExEn Program)   **
******   *****looking at the *****microbial life within the seafloor system*****, the modes of living and the characteristics of the environment that the organisms use to sustain life*****.**
**Increasing numbers and diversity of scientists**** and adding a ****greater interdisciplinary emphasis**** to the study of life in mid-ocean ridge systems and elsewhere in the ocean sub-surface**
**The ****deep-biosphere**** interest remains an *****emphasis***** in NSF / Ocean Sciences**

## The RIDGE Program Ridge Interdisciplinary Global Experiments

**Initiated in the early 1990s to promote interdisciplinary study, scientific communication, and outreach related to all aspects of the globe-encircling, mid-ocean ridge system**
**Science encompasses: **
**the physics and chemistry of the deep mantle; **
**the volcanology and geology of ocean crust; **
**the chemistry and biology of hydrothermal vents; **
**the physics and chemistry of the resulting hydro-**
**	****thermal plumes and surrounding waters; and**
**the unique, complex ecosystems sustained by **
**	****hydrothermal activity and, **
**	****perhaps, the origin of **
**	****life itself.**
** **

## The RIDGE Program 

**The RIDGE Program **

**	*****Example: The Pompeii worm (Alvinella pompejana) can survive an environment as hot as 80° C (176° F) — nearly hot enough to boil water. How the worm survives this heat remains a mystery.***

**RIDGE has provided the majority of research support for thermophilic biology – microbes and megafauna**

## The RIDGE Program Ridge Interdisciplinary Global Experiment

**Modes of Study:**
**   ****Large ****Experiments**** (e.g., MELT and LARVE)**
**   ****Long-Time Series**** (e.g.,  9 North on the EPR), **
**   ****Exploration**** (e.g., the recent Indian Ocean Expedition and the discovery of the Lost City on the MAR) **
**	**
**RIDGE Program Ending in 2001 with initiation of the focused RIDGE-2000 Program**

**Lost City chimney more than 30 feet in height. Photo credit: UW/WHOI**

**Indian Ocean vent site study area**

## The RIDGE 2000 Program: Planetary Renewal and Life in the Deep Ocean

**Built around two multi-disciplinary science themes: ****“Integrated Studies”**** and ****“Time-Dependent Studies”**
**Integrated Studies:  ****Cohesive, integrated experiments at a small number of selected sites, designed to fully characterize the fundamental units of the global ridge crest as integrated volcanic, tectonic and biological systems from “the mantle to ocean." **
**dynamics of the underlying mantle**
**physiology of sub-seafloor microbe populations**
**chemical exchange between seafloor hydrothermal systems and the ocean**

## The RIDGE 2000 Program

**Integrated Studies:**** **
**How and to what extent does hydrothermal flux influence the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the overlying ocean?**
**What is the nature and space/time extent of the biosphere from deep in the subsurface to the overlying water column?**
**What are the forces and linkages that determine the structure and extent of the hydrothermal biosphere?**
**How does biological activity affect vent chemistry and hydrothermal circulation?**
**How does hydrothermal circulation impact melt composition, crustal structure and composition, and ridge morphology?**
**How are melt and fluid transport organized within the mantle and crust?**

## The RIDGE 2000 Program

**Time-Dependent Studies****: To understand the nature, frequency, distribution and geobiological impacts of magmatic and tectonic events along the global mid-ocean ridge system. **
**  **
**Detection and location of eruptions in real time**
**Spatial and temporal relationship of earthquakes to eruptions**
**Relationship of water-column plumes to eruptions or intrusive events**
**Rapid impacts on biological and geochemical attributes of the vent system**
**colonization from zero age crusts and new hydrothermal systems**
**biological and geochemical impacts of event plumes**
**exploring the deep-biosphere within vent systems**
***	******RIDGE 2000 Time Critical Studies will initially be limited to monitoring and rapid response efforts in the Northeast Pacific.***

## ODP -  The Ocean Drilling Program

**ODP -  The Ocean Drilling Program**

**An international partnership of scientists and research institutions organized to explore the evolution and structure of Earth. Over 30 years as DSDP & ODP**
**Provides researchers around the world access to a vast repository of geological and environmental information recorded far below the ocean surface in seafloor sediments and rocks. **
**The drill ship, *****JOIDES Resolution***** is the centerpiece of the Ocean Drilling Program. With this ship, ODP can drill cores -- long cylinders of sediment and rock -- in water depths up to 8.2 kilometers. JOIDES has some of the finest shipboard laboratories, including a new microbiological lab.**
**ODP has drilled in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans, including north of the Arctic and south of the Antarctic circles.**

## ODP -  The Ocean Drilling Program

**ODP -  The Ocean Drilling Program**

**Science themes / highlights:**
**- Gas hydrates**
**- Hydrothermal mineralization**
**- Climate change**
**- Sea-level change**
**- Plate tectonics**
**- Recent interest in the Biosphere deep within the Ocean Bottom**
**The Next Generation in 2003**
**         ****the International Ocean Drilling Program - IODP**

## International Ocean Drilling Program IODP

**International Ocean Drilling Program IODP**

**A major emphasis for IODP will be addressing questions about the ****deep biosphere and evolution****...**
**- What is the extent of the ****Earth’s deep biosphere****? **
**- What is the character of the extreme life forms populating the deep crust and deep sediments?**
**- What are the phylogenetic relationships of these organisms?**
**- What are the energy sources for this life?**
**- Are these deep microbes involved in the formation of mobile hydrocarbons?**
**- What are the processes involved with the weathering of rock surfaces**

## Agency-wide priority area designed to foster research and education on the complex inter-dependencies among the elements of specific environmental systems and interactions of different types of systems. 
All kinds of organisms–from microbes to humans–fall within the BE framework, as do environments that range from frozen polar regions and volcanic vents to temperate forests and agricultural lands as well as the neighborhoods and industries of urban centers. 
The key connector of Biocomplexity activities is complexity–the idea that research on the individual components of environmental systems provides only limited information about the behavior of the systems themselves.

**All kinds of organisms–from **_**microbes to humans**_**–fall within the BE framework, as do environments that range from frozen polar regions and volcanic vents to temperate forests and agricultural lands as well as the neighborhoods and industries of urban centers. **
**The key connector of Biocomplexity activities is complexity–the **_**idea that research on the individual components of environmental systems provides only limited information about the behavior of the systems themselves**_**.**

- Biocomplexity in the Environment

## Biocomplexity Themes (2001,2002,2003) with Relevance to Life in Extreme Environments

**Genome-Enabled Environmental Science and Engineering  (GEN-EN) ****Encouraging the use of genetic information to understand ecosystem functioning and the adaptation of organisms to ecological roles**
**Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (CBC) ****Focusing on the interrelation of biological, geochemical, geological, and physical processes at all temporal and spatial scales, emphasizing linkages between cycles and the influence of biotic factors on those cycles**
**Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA) ****Supporting the development of instrumentation and software that takes advantage of microelectronics, photonics, telemetry, robotics, sensing systems, modeling, data mining, and analysis techniques to bring recent advances to bear on the full spectrum of environmental biocomplexity questions. **

## Biocomplexity Themes (2001,2002,2003) with Relevance to Life in Extreme Environments(sample projects)

**Genome-Enabled Environmental Science and Engineering  (GEN-EN): *****$1.5M award to conduct a meta-genome analysis of an extreme microbial symbiosis (Alvinella)***
**Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (CBC):*****Extent and significance of deep biospheres and life in extreme environments, for example,***** *****investigation of biologically controlled or induced mineralization, the production of gas hydrates in polar and marine environments, molecular-scale geomicrobiology, and transport of microorganisms in the subsurface environment***
**Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA): ***** recommended proposal on s******mart sensors for in situ monitoring of hydrothermal vent systems***

## 	New work on smart sensors for in situ monitoring of hydrothermal vent systems (~$2.5 million):

**Fiber optic surface plasma resonance for density and salinity of high temperature fluids;**
**Fiber optic coupled grating light reflectance spectrophotometer for mineral precipitates;**
**Fiber optic Ramanspectroscopic probes for organic molecules in fluids and the mineral and microbe distributions on vent walls;**
**Fiber optic excitation-emission matrix fluorometer for large biomolecules: amino acids, proteins, DNA fragments.**

- Biocomplexity: **Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA)**

## Time-Series Science

- Understanding of dynamic processes requires sustained time series observations
- In the deep biosphere, long time-series observations are needed to monitor the complex interplay between magmatic, tectonic, hydrothermal, and biological processes

## Infrastructure Support

**NSF provides support for infrastructure and technology necessary to access the ocean from the surface to deep in the seafloor. **
**Research Fleet**
**New capabilities on conventional surface vessels are fundamental**
**Autonomous Instruments/Vehicles**
**Autonomous Benthic Explorer**
**Deep Submergence Capabilities**
**National Deep Submergence Facility**
**Major Upgrade of ROV capability**
**Major support for manned submersible activities**
**Observatories**
**Pilot projects – LEO-15, HUGO, H2O**
**Ocean Drilling Program**
**IODP – Riser drilling capability post 2003**

## Technology Development

- Deep submergence capabilities: An NSF-funded design study for an ALVIN replacement, with greater depth capabilities, will begin this summer
- Ocean Observations: Despite advances, much of the technology needed to build an effective ocean observations system remains in development

- Autonomous Instruments/Vehicles: Potential exists for use of these vehicles (e.g., ABE) in the deep biosphere

## Technology Development

**Ocean Observatories - **
**Manned Submersible Capabilities – An NSF-funded design study for the ALVIN replacement, with greater depth capabilities, will begin this summer**

**Plate Observatory Essential Elements**

## Potential Future Infrastructure:Ocean Observatories Initiative

- In response to the need for sustained time-series measurements, in situ observatories will become increasingly important
- Ocean Observatories Initiative being developed by academic community
- plate-scale observatory
- relocatable buoyed observatory
- coastal observatories
- Some or all of these capabilities may be of interest to NASA