The deep subsurface biosphere in igneous ocean crust: frontier habitats for microbiological exploration

We discuss ridge flank environments in the ocean crust as habitats for subseafloor microbial life. Oceanic ridge flanks, areas far from the magmatic and tectonic influence of seafloor spreading, comprise one of the largest and least explored microbial habitats on the planet. We describe the nature o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Katrina eEdwards, Andrew eFisher, C. Geoffrey eWheat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2012-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmicb.2012.00008/full