CENTER for DARK ENERGY BIOSPHERE INVESTIGATIONS

C-DEBI Newsletter – July 1, 2019

C-DEBI Newsletter – July 1, 2019
This newsletter is also accessible via our website.
 

 

Publications & Press

Science Advances
Archaea dominate oxic subseafloor communities over multimillion-year time scales – NEW!
Aurèle Vuillemin, Scott D. Wankel, Ömer K. Coskun, Tobias Magritsch, Sergio Vargas, Emily R. Estes, Arthur J. Spivack, David C. Smith, Robert Pockalny, Richard W. Murray, Steven D’Hondt*, William D. Orsi*
*C-DEBI Contribution 463

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) dominate microbial communities throughout oxic subseafloor sediment deposited over millions of years in the North Atlantic Ocean. Rates of nitrification correlated with the abundance of these dominant AOA populations, whose metabolism is characterized by ammonia oxidation, mixotrophic utilization of organic nitrogen, deamination, and the energetically efficient chemolithoautotrophic hydroxypropionate/hydroxybutyrate carbon fixation cycle. These AOA thus have the potential to couple mixotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic metabolism via mixotrophic deamination of organic nitrogen, followed by oxidation of the regenerated ammonia for additional energy to fuel carbon fixation. This metabolic feature likely reduces energy loss and improves AOA fitness under energy-starved, oxic conditions, thereby allowing them to outcompete other taxa for millions of years.

Geosciences Journal: Special Issue "Tracking the Deep Biosphere through Time" – Call for Manuscripts
Deadline for manuscript submissions: September 1, 2019.
 

 
 
 
Have an upcoming manuscript about the deep subseafloor biosphere and want to increase your press coverage? NSF's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs is looking to coordinate press releases between your home institution and the NSF to coincide with the date of publication. Please contact us as soon as your publication is accepted!

The LA Times: Why tiny microbes may be a big factor in how climate change unfolds – NEW!
Climate change is about big things: melting ice sheets, rising seas, the feverish temperature of the planet. But scientists say it’s also about little things — namely, microbes. Like all life forms, microbes will feel the impacts of climate change. The way they respond could have huge implications for the rest of us. For instance, microbes will help determine whether natural sources of greenhouse gases rise or fall in a warming world. And they are key to ecological resilience in the face of environmental stress. That’s why a group of scientists issued a consensus statement calling for more research on the topic in this week’s issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology. Ominously, they called it ”Scientists’ Warning to Humanity.” The Times spoke with Victoria Orphan, a microbial ecologist at Caltech who helped write the statement, about why we shouldn’t overlook microbes.

 

Education & Outreach

IODP-USSSP: Volunteer or Nominate a Colleague to be an Ocean Discovery Lecturer, 2020-2021 – NEW!
The U.S. Science Support Program for IODP is currently accepting nominations for the 2020-2021 Ocean Discovery Lecture Series. For over 20 years, the Ocean Discovery Lecture Series (formerly the Distinguished Lecturer Series) has brought the exciting scientific results and discoveries of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) to academic research institutions, museums, and aquaria. Since 1991, over 1,000 presentations to diverse audiences have been made through the Lecture Series. Lecture topics range widely, and include monsoon history, ice sheet dynamics, sediment diagenesis, and more. To learn more about the Ocean Discovery Lecture Series and the current lecturers (including deep biosphere researchers Ginny Edgcomb and Brandi Kiel Reese), visit the USSSP webpage. Nomination deadline: July 5, 2019.

C-DEBI: Latest Professional Development Webinar now online! – NEW!
Missed the last Professional Development Webinar on “How to Use the Broader Impact Wizard: A Tool to Help Advance the Impact of Research in Society” with Janice McDonnell (Rutgers University)? Watch it on YouTube.

C-DEBI: Call for Nominations: Professional Development Webinar Series
Know someone who can share their knowledge of essential skills not learned in graduate school, like developing a syllabus, how to choose what professional service committees to serve on or how to transition to a career in industry? C-DEBI seeks nominations for its Professional Development Webinar series.

 

Meetings & Activities

IODP-USSSP: Letter from the Co-Chairs, NEXT Steering Committee – NEW!
On May 6th and 7th, 88 U.S. scientists with a strong interest in scientific ocean drilling (SOD) convened a workshop in Denver, CO, entitled “NEXT: Scientific Ocean Drilling Beyond 2023” to discuss United States priorities for SOD after the current IODP science plan ends. Joining the workshop were several representatives from the JOIDES Resolution Science Operator (JRSO), experts in drilling/coring, geoscientists from other organizations, and about 30 international partners. In total, approximately 140 people participated. Goals of the NEXT workshop included: What new scientific challenges should be addressed in the new SOD program? What should the framework or structure of the new science plan look like? And what is needed in a new U.S. riserless drilling vessel (from coring to shipboard analysis) to respond to the new challenges identified in this next science plan?

AGU: 2019 Fall Meeting Deep Biosphere-Related Session Proposals
Abstracts due July 31, 2019.

ISSM: Submit your abstracts to the 11th ISSM conference, June 14-19, 2020, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Abstracts due in September 2019.

Ongoing Activities:

 

Proposal Calls

IODP: Apply to Sail on IODP Expedition 386
The deadline to apply is July 5, 2019.

NSF: Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) – NEW!
The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply. Full proposal deadlines: July 17-19, 2019.

IODP: Apply to Sail on IODP Expeditions 390/393
The deadline to apply is August 1, 2019.

NSF: Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis (OPUS)
Full proposal deadline: August 5, 2019.

Moore Foundation: Symbiosis Model Systems – NEW!
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative is solicitating pre-applications to advance development of experimentally tractable model systems in aquatic symbiosis. Additionally, we are seeking information about needs in model systems development through a related survey.  In addition to seeking researchers who currently work in these areas, we hope to identify scientists and engineers who have not previously worked on these topics and who would bring novel perspectives, methods and technologies to these important areas of science. The deadline for submitting a pre-application for the Symbiosis Model Systems funding call is August 8, 2019.

NSF: Biological Oceanography
Full proposal deadline date: August 15, 2019.

NSF: Chemical Oceanography
Full proposal deadline date: August 15, 2019.

NSF: Physical Oceanography
Full proposal deadline date: August 15, 2019.

NSF: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
Full Proposal Deadline: August 28, 2019.

International Research Experiences for Students (IRES)
Full Proposal Deadlines: September 10, 2019 (Track I), September 17, 2019 (Track II) and September 24, 2019 (Track III).

Moore Foundation / Simons Foundation: Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell – NEW!
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Initiative and the Simons Foundation Life Sciences Division are jointly soliciting proposals for research on the origin of the eukaryotic cell. In addition to seeking researchers who currently work in these areas, we hope to identify scientists and engineers who have not previously worked on these topics and who would bring novel perspectives, methods and technologies to these important areas of science. The deadline for submitting a proposal is September 30, 2019.

NSF: Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet)
Letter of intent due date: October 30, 2019.

NSF: Research Traineeship (NRT) Program
Next letter of intent window: November 25, 2019 – December 6, 2019.

UNOLS: Cruise Opportunity Program – NEW!
The primary goal of the UNOLS Cruise Opportunity Program is to provide graduate students currently completing (or who have recently completed) a degree in a field of oceanographic research with the opportunity to participate in a research cruise. The participant will be a member of the scientific party and be involved in data collection and all other activities at sea. It is envisioned that the individual will be familiar with the science to be conducted at sea, and thus, form new collaborations and potentially develop new research directions. To be eligible to participate in this program, the individual must be either currently be studying at a U.S.-based institution or a recent graduate, and must have either a U.S. Passport or a U.S. Work Visa. Please note that you are responsible for paying for your travel to/from the ship (unless otherwise noted), and at this time the UNOLS Office is unable to provide travel funds; however your advisor or institution may have some ideas.

Rolling Calls:

 

Employment

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: PhD / PostDoc position

MBL: Computational Postdoctoral Scientist
Review of applications will begin July 1, 2019 and continue until the position is filled.

Tokyo Institute of Technology: Principal Investigator (Professor or Associate Professor), Earth-Life Science Institute
Application deadline: August 30, 2019.

DRI: Postdoctoral Fellow, Microbial Ecology: Genomes to Phenomes

UH Manoa: Assistant Researcher (Theoretical Ecologist)

 

 
 
 
Don’t forget to email me with any items you'd like to share in future newsletters! We will also broadcast this information on our social media outlets, Twitter and Facebook. You are what makes our deep biosphere community!

 

Best, 
 
Matt
 
— 
Matthew Janicak
Data Manager
Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI)
University of Southern California
janicak@usc.edu
3616 Trousdale Pkwy, AHF 209, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371
Phone: 708-691-9563, Fax: 213-740-2437
Exploring life beneath the seafloor and making transformative discoveries that advance science, benefit society, and inspire people of all ages and origins.

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