Frontiers in Microbiology (Feb 2016)

The Guaymas Basin hiking guide to hydrothermal mounds, chimneys and microbial mats: complex seafloor expressions of subsurface hydrothermal circulation

  • Andreas eTeske,
  • Dirk eDe Beer,
  • Luke eMcKay,
  • Luke eMcKay,
  • Margaret Kingston Tivey,
  • Jennifer F Biddle,
  • Daniel eHoer,
  • Karen G Lloyd,
  • Karen G Lloyd,
  • Mark Alexander Lever,
  • Mark Alexander Lever,
  • Hans eRøy,
  • Daniel B Albert,
  • Howard P Mendlovitz,
  • Barbara J. MacGregor

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00075
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7

Abstract

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The hydrothermal mats, mounds and chimneys of the southern Guaymas Basin are the surface expression of complex subsurface hydrothermal circulation patterns. In this overview we document the most frequently visited features of this hydrothermal area with photographs, temperature measurements, and selected geochemical data; many of these distinct habitats await characterization of their microbial communities and activities. Microprofiler deployments on microbial mats and hydrothermal sediments show their steep geochemical and thermal gradients at millimeter-scale vertical resolution. Mapping these hydrothermal features and sampling locations within the southern Guaymas Basin suggest linkages to underlying shallow sills and heatflow gradients. Recognizing the inherent spatial limitations of much current Guaymas Basin sampling calls for a wider survey of the entire spreading region.

Keywords