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BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University biology graduate student Richard Davis dove nearly one mile deep in a manned submersible to collect samples from vents at the underwater volcano, Loihi Seamount. The volcano, located 29 kilometers southeast of the island of Hawaii, will eventually become the next island in the Hawaiian Islands chain. Loihi Seamount experienced a major eruption in 1996 and since then has been expelling large amounts of hot hydrothermal fluids that support the growth of microbial mats. “Deep down, around underwater volcanoes, mineral-rich hot water is venting into the ocean. Bacteria form thick microbial mats around these vents, feeding on the reduced elemental nutrients found in the hot water,” Davis said. Davis successfully participated in one of the seven dives made to the volcano from Oct. 18 to Oct. 28. He collected microbial mat samples near Peles’s Pit, a large crater near the volcano’s summit. The investigators from WWU also included Craig Moyer, associate professor in biology, who said the samples will be able to track temporal changes that occurred within the microbial community after the eruption. Davis said that temporal changes can be tracked by identifying the shifting bacteria species over time and correlating that to what nutrients are coming out of the vents. “This project serves as an indicator of the opportunities afforded through Western’s biology department with its progression toward enhanced faculty research and cutting-edge scientific and oceanographic research that includes participation by both graduate and undergraduate students,” Moyer said. This work was conducted in conjunction with the Iron Microbial Observatory (FeMO) project, a five-year study funded by the National Science Foundation as part of their Microbial Observatory Initiative. The submersible dives were funded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA) National Undersea Research Program. |
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