Quantification of basal ice microbial cell delivery to the glacier margin [pre-print]

Toubes-Rodrigo, Mario; Cook, Simon J.; Elliott, David and Sen, Robin (2016). Quantification of basal ice microbial cell delivery to the glacier margin [pre-print]. Biogeosciences Discussions

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2016-471

Abstract

We present the first assessment of microbial cell discharge from sediment-laden glacier basal ice. At Svínafellsjökull, a temperate valley glacier in Iceland, approximately 10¹⁷ cells a⁻¹ are transferred through basal ice to the proglacial environment, and between 10¹ and 10⁶ cells g⁻¹ basal ice were cultured from our samples under laboratory conditions. We suggest that the delivery of viable cells and dead microbial matter to proglacial ecosystems could be playing a crucial role in soil formation and primary succession during deglaciation, but further quantification of cell transfer from a range of glacier contexts is required.

Viewing alternatives

Metrics

Item Actions

Export

You can export this page using these formats Digital Object Identifier - DOI

About

• Item ORO ID
• 78701
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• Project Funding Details

• Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
  Geomicrobiology of basal ice	Not Set	Royal Geographical Society

• Extra Information
• This discussion paper is a preprint. It has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). The manuscript was not accepted for further review after discussion.
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) > Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
  Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2016 The Authors.
• Related URLs
• • https://bg.copernicus.org/preprints/bg-2...
• Depositing User
• Mario Toubes-Rodrigo