Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Publications
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

Data are published in Ramírez et al., 2021 (Table 2), see related publications.

Thermal profiles were measured in surficial sediments using Alvin’s 50 cm heat flow probe in Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California (111W 27N) in November 2018. Alvin dive numbers 4991-5001.

A Heatflow probe manufactured by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) was used to measure temperature profiles. This is a 0.6 m titanium tube containing a linear heater and five thermistors (type 44032, Omega Engineering, Inc.) at 10 cm intervals along the length of the tube (personal communication with Lane J. Abrams, WHOI). The thermistors have a tolerance of +/- 0.2 up to 40C, and +/- 1 C up to 200C.

The probe has thermal sensors every 10 cm, starting 5 cm under the attached plastic disk (the “puck”) that limits probe penetration and rests on the seafloor once the probe is inserted. After approx. 3 to 5 minutes, temperature readings stabilize and are recorded. The heat flow probe shorted at the beginning of Alvin dive 5000; instead, the thermosensor within the tip of the suction intake was inserted into the sediment at approx. 5 cm, 10 cm and 20 cm depth, and the temperature was recorded immediately.

The probe is considered fully inserted when a disk at the base reaches the sediment surface, and takes temperature readings at 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 cmbsf. For additional resolution, 5 cm depth resolution was achieved by first inserting the probe 5 cm less than complete insertion and recording one profile, and then inserting the probe the rest of the way and recording a second profile, 5 cm offset from the first. Temperatures were recorded after the readings had stabilized for each of the five depths, usually after 3 to 5 minutes.

BCO-DMO Processing Notes;
* Adjusted naming of parameters to comply with database requirements
* Converted date to ISO format
* Split up longitude and latitude in their own column

NSF Award Abstract:
Fungi that can derive energy from chemicals, yet consume other organisms or organic material to obtain carbon have been reported from diverse marine subsurface samples, including from hundreds of meters below the seafloor. Evidence exists that Fungi are active in subsurface marine sediments globally, yet there is a dearth of knowledge on their role in the marine subsurface, and specifically on their role(s) in hydrocarbon degradation within deep-sea sediments. This team is isolating a broad collection of environmentally relevant filamentous Fungi and yeasts from hydrothermally-influenced and hydrocarbon-rich seep sediments of Guaymas Basin using high-throughput culture-based approaches. They aim to reveal the diversity of Fungi and Bacteria in these hydrothermal sediments, how temperature and hydrocarbon composition shape their distribution, and how Fungi cooperate to enhance the degradation of hydrocarbons by Bacteria. By hosting six undergraduates through the WHOI Summer Student Fellows program and the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program, the project contributes to increasing diversity in marine science by offering opportunities for promising undergraduates from disadvantaged populations. High school students are involved in summer projects and in intensive summer workshops. One postdoc, a graduate student, and two Research Associates are supported, and international collaborations are strengthened. The postdoc and graduate student are gaining valuable cruise-based experience. An e-lecture on Fungi and their role(s) in biodegradation of hydrocarbons will be made publicly available by the end of the project. Fungal isolates with accompanying information will be secured in a reference culture collection for long-term storage and are available to any interested researcher throughout the project.

The PIs are isolating a broad collection of environmentally relevant filamentous Fungi and yeasts from hydrothermally-influenced and hydrocarbon-rich seep sediments of Guaymas Basin using high-throughput culture-based approaches, with the aim to reveal their ability to degrade individual hydrocarbons under in situ pressures and temperatures. Culture independent methods marker gene analyses are used to characterize in situ fungal and bacterial diversity and to examine how temperature and hydrocarbon composition shape fungal community composition and distribution. Traditional and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatographic analyses are used to examine the complexities and subtle changes in inventories of hydrocarbons within sediment cores, and provide evidence for in situ microbial alteration of individual hydrocarbons. Incubation experiments are used to test the ability of fungal isolates to utilize different hydrocarbons as a sole or auxiliary carbon source under in situ pressures and temperatures and their ability to stimulate biodegradation of hydrocarbons by hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. Expressed genes within these incubation studies tell us how Fungi and Bacteria couple metabolisms to increase overall specificity and extent of biodegradation of hydrocarbons.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.