{"id":180392,"date":"2023-04-10T10:16:36","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T14:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/?page_id=180392"},"modified":"2024-05-02T12:09:42","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T16:09:42","slug":"uri-astrobiology","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/uri-astrobiology\/","title":{"rendered":"URI Astrobiology"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was a member organization of
\nthe NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) from 2001-2006. This page is a
\nrecord of NAI URI activities during that time.<\/span><\/h3>\n

URI Astrobiology Institute<\/h1>

Dedicated to study of the Living Universe<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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Program Objectives<\/h2>\n

The University of Rhode Island (URI) Team works to gain a fundamental understanding of the life that inhabits Earth\u2019s deeply buried marine sediments. Earth\u2019s deep biosphere is a critical component of Earth\u2019s biogeochemical cycles and serves as a model for possible life on other planets. Consequently, the team\u2019s objectives are to understand the subsurface microbial ecosystems of marine sediments, their role in Earth\u2019s biogeochemical cycles, and their relevance to the search for life on other planets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Individual projects of the URI Team seek to:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Explore the taxonomic composition, metabolic activity and geochemical consequences of buried microbial ecosystems in marine sediments with widely different physical and chemical characteristics.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Document the nature, extent, and perturbation-sensitivity of microbial activity in marine sediments, plus the effect of that activity on Earth\u2019s biogeochemical cycles.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Identify signatures of present and past microbial processes in Earth\u2019s subsurface as a guide to predicting such signatures in extraterrestrial subsurface environments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Environments of special interest include: 1) old, deeply buried sediments where life exists despite extremely low concentrations of electron donors and key nutrients, and 2) hot, deeply buried anoxic sediments where life may exist independently of the photosynthesis-based ecosystem at Earth\u2019s surface. The ecosystems of these subsurface habitats are potentially representative of the ecosystems that may exist on other planets<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"methanemap\"<\/div>

Subseafloor Data<\/h2>

This website provides ready access to geochemical and geophysical information to help scientists assess the kinds of microbial communities and the levels and kinds of microbial activity that are likely to exist in marine sediments of different regions at different depths beneath the seafloor.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

Explore<\/div><\/a><\/div>\n

Research Approach<\/h2>\n

In addressing its objectives, the URI Team is playing a leading role in the international effort to recover and analyze microbiological and biogeochemical samples from deep beneath the seafloor. Team members utilize a broad range of research techniques to:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Apply and develop biogeochemical techniques for identifying metabolic interactions and quantifying rates of metabolic activity in deeply buried sediments<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Document the genetic composition of deeply buried microbial communities<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Compile and analyze global databases of biogeochemical and physical properties that define the limits to life in deeply buried marine environments<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Computationally model subsurface microbial activities and their effects on both subsurface and surface environments<\/span><\/p>\n

The approach of the URI Team is fundamentally interdisciplinary. Team members use advanced techniques from a wide range of fields, including <\/span>microbiology, molecular biology, organic and inorganic biogeochemistry, geology and geophysics. The work is field-, laboratory-, and model-based. Team members routinely participate in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) cruises and played a leading role in the first ocean drilling expedition to be dedicated to study of life deep beneath the seafloor (ODP Leg 201). To effectively accomplish the program\u2019s goals, the URI Team\u2019s investigators, post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and select undergraduate students collaborate with each other, with other members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and with scientists at other institutions throughout the world<\/span><\/p>\n

Team Members<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
 <\/td>\nUniversity of Rhode Island<\/strong>
\n<\/span>  <\/p>\n

Steven D\u2019Hondt, Principal Investigator, dhondt@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nDavid C. Smith, Co-Investigator, dcsmith@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nArthur J. Spivack, Co-Investigator, spivack@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nRobert Pockalny, E\/PO Lead, rpockalny@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nJens Kallmeyer, Post-Doctoral Scholar, kallmeyer@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nBruno Soffientino, Post-Doctoral Scholar, bruno@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nJames H. Miller, Collaborator, miller@oce.uri.edu<\/a>
\nMichael S. Twardowski, Collaborator, mtwardo@wetlabs2.com<\/a>
\nCarly Blair, Graduate Student, cblair@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nHeather Schrum, Graduate Student, hschrum@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\n<\/span>Guizhi Wang, Graduate Student, gzhwang@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nDennis Graham, Marine Research Specialist III, dgraham@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nApril Pariseault, Program Coordinator, april@gso.uri.edu<\/a>
\nRobert Sand, IT Coordinator, sand@gso.uri.edu<\/a><\/span>Undergraduate Research <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

Assistants<\/i>
\n2003-2005   Miranda Smith (from Macalester College)
\n2003-2004   Ben Swanson (from the University of Rhode Island)
\n2002   Andrea Mullin (from the University of Akron)<\/span><\/p>\n

Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows<\/i>
\n2005   Rika Anderson (from Carleton College)
\n2005   Melinda Montano (from Eckard College)
\n2004   Kristofer D. Carlson (from Worcester Polytechnical Institute)
\n2004   Kelly Hanks (from the University of Rhode Island)
\n2003   Beverley Chen (from Washington University in St. Louis)
\n2003   Uri Manor (from Saint Louis University)<\/span><\/p>\n

University of North Carolina\u2014Chapel Hill<\/strong>
\nAndreas Teske, Co-Investigator, teske@email.unc.edu<\/a>
\nMark Lever, Graduate Student, mlever77@email.unc.edu<\/a>
\nKaren Lloyd, Graduate Student, klloyd@email.unc.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution<\/strong>
\nJohn M. Hayes, Co-Investigator, jhayes@whoi.edu<\/a>
\nKai-Uwe Hinrichs, Co-Investigator, khinrichs@whoi.edu<\/a>
\nHelen Fredricks, Scientific Staff, hfredricks@whoi.edu<\/a>
\nKristin Smith, Research Assistant II, ksmith@whoi.edu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Max-Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology<\/strong>
\nBo Barker J\u00f8rgensen, Collaborator, bjoergen@mpi-bremen.de<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Massachusetts Institute of Technology<\/strong>
\nRoger Summons, Collaborator, rsummons@mit.edu<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Roger Williams University<\/strong>
\nScott Rutherford, Collaborator, srutherford@rwu.edu<\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Rhode Island (URI) was a member organization of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) from 2001-2006. This page is a record of NAI URI activities during that time. Program Objectives The University of Rhode Island (URI) Team works to gain a fundamental understanding of the life that inhabits Earth\u2019s deeply buried marine sediments. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4762,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-180392","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/180392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4762"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180392"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/180392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184291,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/180392\/revisions\/184291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}