Carbon in the Deep Biosphere: Forms, Fates, and Biogeochemical Cycling

Source Publication

Deep Carbon: Past to Present

Authors

Susan Q. Lang, University of South Carolina
Magdalena R. Osburn, Northwestern University
Andrew D. Steen, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

2019

Abstract

Building on the synthesis of carbon reservoirs in Earth's subsurface, this chapter focuses on the forms, cycling, and fate of the carbon supporting microbial life in the terrestrial and marine subsurface. As the subsurface is estimated to host a vast reservoir of life on Earth, identifying the carbon compounds that life uses for energy and growth is key to understanding ecosystem functioning in the past and at present, and also for extrapolating these findings to the search for life in the universe. This chapter highlights advances in quantifying small carbon compounds, measuring rates of carbon turnover, and the fate of carbon in the deep biosphere.

Recommended Citation

Lang, S., Osburn, M., & Steen, A. D. (2019). Carbon in the Deep Biosphere: Forms, Fates, and Biogeochemical Cycling. In B. Orcutt, I. Daniel, & R. Dasgupta (Eds.), Deep Carbon: Past to Present (pp. 480-523). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Submission Type

Post-print