US scientists to study life below earth's surface
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-21 15:21
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The university will use a 25-million-dollar grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to create the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations, according to the announcement.
"Our mission statement is to understand the extent, function, dynamics and implication of the existence of a deep biosphere on Earth. We focus on the marine realm because it is by far the biggest challenge in terms of potential habitat size," said USC biological science and earth sciences professor Katrina J. Edwards.
"Given the maturity of the field and the significant advancement in technology, this is an ideal time to establish the center," Edwards said. "My team and I are thrilled to receive this extraordinary opportunity to collaborate with scientists from around the globe as we pursue our ambitious, education and diversity goals."
Edwards and her research partners will conduct an international, coordinated mission to explore beneath the earth's ocean floor in three main field projects at the North Pond section of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Juan de Fuca plate off British Columbia, and under the South Pacific Gyre, south of the equator between South America and Australia.
Among the center's goals are to advance the tools needed for sea sub-seafloor biosphere research; train and educate a new and diverse generation of undergraduate, graduate students and postdoctoral deep sub-seafloor researchers and translate knowledge of the deep sub-seafloor biosphere and ocean sciences to a broad and diverse community.
Nearly half of the total biomass on earth resides in habitats below the earth's solid or liquid surface, including in aquifers, soils, sediments and rocks below both the continents and below the ocean floor, according to the USC statement.
USC was one of five institutions to win a new Science and Technology Center award following a recent, merit-based competition in which 247 preliminary proposals had been received.
