Microbiology associated with hydrocarbon seeps.
Microbiology associated with hydrocarbon seeps.
Samples collected will support research in two areas:
(1) Understanding the microbial ecology of hydrocarbon degradation in the cold marine environment. Very little is known about the potential for bacteria in the Arctic ocean to respond to an oil spill. Research from the Gulf of Mexico in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010 revealed that cold-adapted bacteria were capable of rapidly degrading the hydrocarbons leaking from the Macondo wellhead at the seafloor. It has been suggested that the ability of these bacteria to metabolize hydrocarbons is related to the natural seeps in the Gulf of Mexico seafloor. Hydrocarbon seepage in the Canadian Arctic Ocean is therefore of interest for understanding biodegradation in this region, which is poised to see an increase in industrial traffic and potentially also hydrocarbon exploration.
(2) Understanding the biogeography of endospores of thermophilic bacteria that have been detected in other Arctic sediments (e.g., Hubert et al. 2009 Science 325: 1541). A good geographic sample set across the Canadian Arctic will considerably enhance this research by allowing for an Arctic survey that will set the stage for future more focused investigations. Areas of hydrocarbon seepage are especially interesting given the hypothesis that these seeps might transport such bacteria from deep warm layers of sediment (possible habitats of origin for thermophiles) up into the cold ocean (where the bacteria survive as dormant resilient endospores).
Planned transects and sites in the north water during Leg 1 as well as sites in Baffin Bay in Leg 1 & 3 are interesting based on preliminary indications that the target “thermo-spores” of interest can be detected there; as such the “basic” (B) and “full” (F) stations in the north water represent a nice set of geospatially separated samples for a biogeography study. Other areas of the arctic along the Amundsen’s planned route that may not have hydrocarbon seepage or thermo-spores, yet are important for both (1) and (2) above as potential ‘negative control’ locations. Sites in the Beaufort Sea during Leg 2 are also of interest as this is a location of current and future oil drilling.
Fieldwork site: Onboard the CCGS Amundsen, Labrador Coast, Baffin Bay, Northwater, Northwest Passage, Beaufort Sea, Mackenzie Shelf, Barrow Canyon
PI: Dr. G. Stern, Dr. C.Hubert, Dr. Søren Rysgaard
Project Lead: Alexis Burt (CEOS)
Project Participants: Dr. Gary Stern (CEOS); Dr. Casey Hubert (UCalgary), Dr. Søren Rysgaard (CEOS), Alexis Burt (CEOS), Gordon Chamberlain (CEOS), Amy Noel (UCalgary)