C-DEBI Newsletter – June 15, 2020
This newsletter is also accessible via our website (https://www.darkenergybiosphere.org) .
Message from the Associate Director:
This past week, I participated in a national #Strike4BlackLives (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Strike4BlackLives) to support the Black Lives Matter (https://blacklivesmatter.com/) movement and condemn institutional racism in academia and science. Based on my twitter feed, it looks like many of our C-DEBI community members did as well. In Woods Hole, a small town with a big scientific impact, we organized a protest march and asked community members to stop business as usual to reflect on anti-black racism in America, recognize ways academia perpetuates harmful narratives, and plan ways to stop injustice. Beyond the march, I also spent time reading about hiring bias in academia, looking at statistics for our academic programs at WHOI, and listening to stories from local Black community members on their experiences here. On Twitter, I saw C-DEBI community members making donations, writing Wikipedia pages for Black scientists and "lab values" statements for their groups, reaching out to their
local societies for support and resources, and developing many other future plans for confronting racism in STEM.
I encourage all of the C-DEBI community to support efforts against racism in the scientific community and society at large. While there are many resources and potential actions, this one day movement provided an excellent start for those eager to participate and educate themselves.
Learn more about #Strike4BlackLives / #ShutDownSTEM:
* #ShutDownSTEM: Resources (https://www.shutdownstem.com/resources)
* Particles For Justice (https://www.particlesforjustice.org/)
National coverage of the events:
* Science: Researchers around the world prepare to #ShutDownSTEM and ‘Strike For Black Lives’ (https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/researchers-around-world-prepare-shutdownstem-and-strike-black-lives)
* Nature: Thousands of scientists worldwide to go on strike for Black lives (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-01721-x)
* Wired: Across the Globe, Scientists Are Striking for Black Lives (https://www.wired.com/story/across-the-globe-scientists-are-striking-for-black-lives/)
And from my neck of the woods:
* WCAI / NPR: Local Scientists Confront Racism in Their Ranks (https://www.capeandislands.org/post/local-scientists-confront-racism-their-ranks#stream/0)
Julie Huber,
C-DEBI Associate Director
Publications
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PLoS One
Bioenergetic characterization of a shallow-sea hydrothermal vent system: Milos Island, Greece (https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0234175) - NEW!
ShuLin Lu, Douglas E. LaRowe*, David A. Fike, Gregory K. Druschel, William P. Gilhooly, Roy E. Price, Jan P. Amend*
*C-DEBI Contribution 529
Shallow-sea hydrothermal systems, like their deep-sea and terrestrial counterparts, can serve as relatively accessible portals into the microbial ecology of subsurface environments. In this study, we determined the chemical composition of 47 sediment porewater samples along a transect from a diffuse shallow-sea hydrothermal vent to a non-thermal background area in Paleochori Bay, Milos Island, Greece. These geochemical data were combined with thermodynamic calculations to quantify potential sources of energy that may support in situ chemolithotrophy. The Gibbs energies (ΔG[r]) of 730 redox reactions involving 23 inorganic H-, O-, C-, N-, S-, Fe-, Mn-, and As-bearing compounds were calculated. Of these reactions, 379 were exergonic at one or more sampling locations. The greatest energy yields were from anaerobic CO oxidation with NO[2]^– (-136 to -162 kJ/mol e^–), followed by reactions in which the electron acceptor/donor pairs were O[2]/CO, NO[3]^–/CO, and NO[2]^–/H[2]S. When expressed as
energy densities (where the concentration of the limiting reactant is taken into account), a different set of redox reactions are the most exergonic: in sediments affected by hydrothermal input, sulfide oxidation with a range of electron acceptors or nitrite reduction with different electron donors provide 85~245 J per kg of sediment, whereas in sediments less affected or unaffected by hydrothermal input, various S^0 oxidation reactions and aerobic respiration reactions with several different electron donors are most energy-yielding (80~95 J per kg of sediment). A model that considers seawater mixing with hydrothermal fluids revealed that there is up to ~50 times more energy available for microorganisms that can use S^0 or H[2]S as electron donors and NO[2]^– or O[2] as electron acceptors compared to other reactions. In addition to revealing likely metabolic pathways in the near-surface and subsurface mixing zones, thermodynamic calculations like these can help guide novel microbial
cultivation efforts to isolate new species.
Environmental Microbiology
Metabolic strategies of marine subseafloor Chloroflexi inferred from genome reconstructions (http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.15061) - NEW!
Maeva Fincker, Julie A. Huber*, Victoria J. Orphan*, Michael S. Rappé, Andreas P. Teske, Alfred M. Spormann*
*C-DEBI Contribution 531
Uncultured members of the Chloroflexi phylum are highly enriched in numerous subseafloor environments. Their metabolic potential was evaluated by reconstructing 31 Chloroflexi genomes from six different subseafloor habitats. The near ubiquitous presence of enzymes of the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, electron bifurcation, and ferredoxin‐dependent transport‐coupled phosphorylation indicated anaerobic acetogenesis was central to their catabolism. Most of the genomes simultaneously contained multiple degradation pathways for complex carbohydrates, detrital protein, aromatic compounds, and hydrogen, indicating the coupling of oxidation of chemically diverse organic substrates to ubiquitous CO[2] reduction. Such pathway combinations may confer a fitness advantage in subseafloor environments by enabling these Chloroflexi to act as primary fermenters and acetogens in one microorganism without the need for syntrophic H[2] consumption. While evidence for catabolic oxygen respiration was limited to two
phylogenetic clusters, the presence of genes encoding putative reductive dehalogenases throughout the phylum expanded the phylogenetic boundary for potential organohalide respiration past the Dehalococcoidia class.
Scientific Drilling, Issue no. 27 (https://sd.copernicus.org/articles/27/index.html) - NEW!
The new issue of Scientific Drilling, a multidisciplinary ICDP-IODP program journal delivering peer-reviewed science reports from recently completed and ongoing international scientific drilling projects, is now available online. Deep biosphere-related articles include Microbial diversity of drilling fluids from 3000 m deep Koyna pilot borehole provides insights into the deep biosphere of continental earth crust (Bose et al.) and New Chikyu Shallow Core Program (SCORE): exploring mass transport deposits and the subseafloor biosphere off Cape Erimo, northern Japan (Kubo et al.).
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! (mailto:janicak@usc.edu)
Meetings & Activities
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UNOLS: Science of the Abyss Virtual Workshops (https://ndsf.whoi.edu/alvin/workshop-alvin-in-the-abyss/) - --- -UPDATED!
The NSF-sponsored Expanding Deep Sea Horizons: Scientific Priorities in Abyssal Research workshop is set to kick off TOMORROW. As a reminder, the workshop is an opportunity for the trans-disciplinary deep sea research community to gather to discuss the key scientific opportunities at abyssal science and the technologies needed to address them. With HOV Alvin completing it’s upgrade in the coming year, the US research community will now have two submersibles capable of diving to 6500m. The workshop is designed to fit within everyone’s busy schedules. There will be three topical workshops (see below) that last 1.5 hours each. The workshops will be entirely devoted to small-group discussion based on pre-recorded presentations by subject matter experts. Presentations will be uploaded to the workshop website several days before the workshop. Each workshop will be held at twice (10am Eastern, 2pm Pacific) so that you can easily fit it into your day. Please register for each of the topical
workshops at the time that is best for you using the links below, or visit the workshop website (https://ndsf.whoi.edu/alvin/workshop-alvin-in-the-abyss/) .
* June 16, 2020: Abyssal Plains & Seamounts [ Register 10am EDT (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pfuGtrz0pHtOxi1lf_MN2OHJnm-PQ-3zg__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4f2El5P8zp38HBdYfL3_GfL8jOMAFoY6yW3nEm42wQdTllbNn4xhmshBpsf8N9c$) | Register 2pm PDT (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMtf-2srzwpGtEWKYxwM1Eu6oocQangA201__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4f2El5P8zp38HBdYfL3_GfL8jOMAFoY6yW3nEm42wQdTllbNn4xhmshBDGifEFE$) ]
Speakers: Tim Shank (WHOI), Jasper Konter (SOEST, U. Hawaii), Steve D’Hondt (GSO, U. Rhode Island), Jill McDermott (Lehigh U.)
* June 30, 2020: Trenches & Transforms [ Register 10am EDT (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUqceihpzwpGtQWy3CqnBVk089rOSM9vIq4__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4f2El5P8zp38HBdYfL3_GfL8jOMAFoY6yW3nEm42wQdTllbNn4xhmshBQwu27Sk$) | Register 2pm PDT (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJApfuygrzIoH9AJpAj-3FMYdN9_eP7Oxk7N__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4f2El5P8zp38HBdYfL3_GfL8jOMAFoY6yW3nEm42wQdTllbNn4xhmshBvhV0CxQ$) ]
Speakers: Patty Fryer (SOEST, U. Hawaii), Chris German (WHOI), Karen Rogers (Rensellear Polytechnic Inst.), Julie Huber (WHOI), Jeff Drazen (SOEST, U. Hawaii)
* July 7, 2020: Abyssal Technology & Societal Relevance [ Register 10am EDT (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwvde-hrzgvG93Yh42ElkiNH_XzxUDMPssp__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4f2El5P8zp38HBdYfL3_GfL8jOMAFoY6yW3nEm42wQdTllbNn4xhmshBG7Po92M$) | Register 2pm PDT (https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwrcOusqjMsHta21CQLoD5Ze1vV5sBHlMKx__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!4f2El5P8zp38HBdYfL3_GfL8jOMAFoY6yW3nEm42wQdTllbNn4xhmshBEbKuO88$) ]
Speakers: Pete Girguis (Harvard), Beth Orcutt (Bigelow Marine Lab), Bruce Strickrott (WHOI), Diva Amon (London NHM)
NSF-OCE: 2020 Frontiers in Ocean Sciences Symposium on Partnerships, Thursday, June 18, 12-4:30 pm EDT (https://www.nsf.gov/events/event_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300694&WT.mc_id=USNSF_13&WT.mc_ev=click) - --- -NEW!
Join the NSF Geosciences Directorate’s Division of Ocean Sciences on Thursday, June 18, 2020, 12-4:30 pm EDT for the virtual 2020 Frontiers in Ocean Sciences Symposium. The theme of this year’s Symposium is Partnerships. Four NSF-funded scientists will share their pioneering research, their stories, and how they have fostered and learned from partnerships in their career. A panel of alumni from last year’s Symposium will convene for an update on their research and for an engaging discussion with you. See the agenda and registration flyer for details (https://www.nsf.gov/attachments/300694/public/2020FrontiersOceanSciencesSymposiumFlyer.pdf) .
-IODP-USSSP: Volunteer for a Board, Committee or Panel (https://usoceandiscovery.org/committees/) -
Scientists interested in volunteering for these opportunities should apply by July 1, 2020.
-ISSM 2020: Meeting postponed to November 1-6, call for poster abstracts extended (https://www.issm2020.com/) -
Submitting poster abstracts (oral presentation abstract submissions are now closed) has an extended deadline of July 30, 2020.
-C-DEBI: Nominations open for the 2020 Networked Speaker Series (http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/outputs-resources/networked-speaker-series/) -
C-DEBI seeks nominations for three speakers for the 2020 program. C-DEBI is continuing the Networked Speaker Series (begun in Fall 2011) as a means to enhance communication and the exchange of ideas among our spatially distributed community. Potential speakers can be nominated by colleagues, mentors, or those mentored by C-DEBI participants; they can also self nominate. Selected C-DEBI Networked Speakers will make a presentation online, using video conferencing tools, with assistance from the C-DEBI main office at USC. Nominated C-DEBI Networked Speakers should be capable of combining compelling visual materials with the ability to communicate effectively to a broad audience. We are particularly enthusiastic about giving young researchers a chance to present work to the C-DEBI community. Being selected to be a C-DEBI Networked Speaker is an honor.
-AGI: Geoscience COVID-19 Survey (https://www.americangeosciences.org/workforce/covid19) -
The American Geosciences Institute is conducting a year-long study to understand how geoscience employers and educational institutions are changing their workplace and instructional environments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and to discover which of these changes will become permanent.
Ongoing Activities:
* C-DEBI: Rolling call for Community Workshop support (http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/research-activities/research-support/workshops/)
* C-DEBI: Protocols.io Group Page (https://www.protocols.io/groups/center-for-dark-energy-biosphere-investigations)
* C-DEBI: Subseafloor Cultures Database (http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/outputs-resources/subseafloor-cultures-database/)
* C-DEBI: Join us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/c-debi-center-for-dark-energy-biosphere-investigations/)
Proposal Calls
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-NOAA: Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2021 Funding Opportunity (https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/about/funding-opps/welcome.html) -
The deadline for the pre-proposal submission is June 18, 2020.
-NSF: Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20525/nsf20525.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click) -
Full proposal deadline: July 27, 2020.
-UNOLS: 2020 Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Cruise Opportunities (https://www.unols.org/unols-cruise-opportunity-program) -
The application deadline for the Fall 2020 Deployment Operations cruises is is August 3, 2020.
-NSF: Biological Oceanography (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=11696&WT.mc_id=USNSF_46&WT.mc_ev=click) -
Full proposal target dates: August 17, 2020 and February 15, 2021.
-NSF: Chemical Oceanography (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=11698&WT.mc_id=USNSF_46&WT.mc_ev=click) -
Full proposal target date: August 17, 2020 and February 15, 2021.
-NSF: Physical Oceanography (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12729&WT.mc_id=USNSF_46&WT.mc_ev=click) -
Full proposal target date: August 17, 2020 and February 15, 2021.
-NSF: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Pathways into the Earth, Ocean, Polar and Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences (IUSE:GEOPAths) (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20516/nsf20516.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click) -
Letter of Intent Due Date: November 17, 2020.
-NSF: Research Traineeship (NRT) Program (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505015&WT.mc_id=USNSF_46&WT.mc_ev=click) -
Full Proposal Deadline Date: February 6, 2021.
NSF: DCL: Collaborative Proposals under NSF and US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) Collaborative Research Opportunities (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20094/nsf20094.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click) - ---- NEW!
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Research Cooperation. The MOU provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between U.S. and Israeli research communities and sets out the principles by which jointly supported activities might be developed. The MOU provides for an international collaboration arrangement whereby U.S. researchers may receive funding from the NSF and Israeli researchers may receive funding from the BSF. The goal of this US-Israel collaborative research opportunity is to help reduce some of the current barriers to working internationally. Through a lead agency model, NSF and BSF will address these issues by allowing U.S. and Israeli researchers to submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single review process at NSF, which will be the lead agency. The collaborative opportunity described in this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) remains in
effect until archived. This is not a single-year program.
IODP-USSSP: Expedition 377 Arctic Ocean Paleoceanography will not be implemented in 2021 (https://mailchi.mp/ldeo/iodp-exp-377-arcop-important-development?e=852d62bb1f) - --- -UPDATED!
The European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) regrettably announces that IODP Expedition 377: Arctic Ocean Paleoceanography will not be implemented in August to October 2021. In spring 2020, the ECORD Science Operator (ESO) opened a call to the commercial market to provide platform, drilling and ice management services for this expedition. The commercial bids received were evaluated at the end of May 2020. Unfortunately, it has been concluded that the procurement has failed to achieve its objectives. The primary and overriding reason for this is the combination of facilities and services required cannot be fulfilled within the expedition’s available budget. At its recent spring meeting on 10-11 June 2020, ECORD Council confirmed the removal of Expedition 377 from the 2021 mission-specific platform expedition schedule. Later in June, the ECORD Facility Board will consider options for future MSP expeditions for 2021-2023. The Call for Scientists will now be stopped, and
announcements on the future of Expedition 377 will be made via IODP-related channels in due course. Current applications will be deleted, and a fresh Call for Scientist issued if and when appropriate.
-NSF: COVID-19 Impacts (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/coronavirus/) -
Links: NSF Coronavirus webpage (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/coronavirus/) , NSF Implementation of OMB Memorandum M-20-17 (https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/covid19/covid19_nsfombimplementation.pdf) , COVID-19 Information for the Geosciences Research Community (https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=300299&org=GEO) .
-NSF OCE: Upcoming proposals to OCE, shiptime and data proposals (https://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/proposal-call/upcoming-proposals-to-oce-shiptime-and-data-proposals/) -
Rolling Calls:
* C-DEBI: Rolling call for Research Exchange proposals (http://www.darkenergybiosphere.org/research-activities/research-support/exchange/)
* IODP-USSSP: Proposals for Pre-Drilling Activities (http://usoceandiscovery.org/pre-drilling-activities/)
* NSF: Antarctic Research Program Solicitation (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20568/nsf20568.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Arctic Sciences Program Solicitation (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2016/nsf16595/nsf16595.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Dear Colleague Letter: Poorly Sampled and Unknown Taxa (PurSUiT) (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20059/nsf20059.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Division of Environmental Biology (core programs) (DEB) (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20502/nsf20502.htm)
* NSF: Enabling Discovery through GEnomic Tools (EDGE) (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20532/nsf20532.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research (IIBR) (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18595/nsf18595.htm)
* NSF: Instrument Capacity for Biological Research (ICBR) (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505542&WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Non-Academic Research Internships for Graduate Students (INTERN) Supplemental Funding Opportunity (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18102/nsf18102.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_179)
* NSF: Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS): Funding to Broaden Participation in the Biological Sciences (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18088/nsf18088.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Research Experience for Teachers (RET): Funding Opportunity in the Biological Sciences (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18089/nsf18089.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click)
* NSF: Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5483&WT.mc_id=USNSF_46&WT.mc_ev=click)
* Queen Mary U of London: PhD Project: Microbial survival in the energy-limited deep biosphere (https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/microbial-survival-in-the-energy-limited-deep-biosphere/?p111036)
* Queen Mary U of London: PhD Project: Microbial life and activity on glaciers and in Arctic soils (https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/microbial-life-and-activity-on-glaciers-and-in-arctic-soils/?p111037)
* UNOLS: Cruise Opportunity Program (https://www.unols.org/unols-cruise-opportunity-program)
Employment
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-MSU: Postdoctoral Researcher position on Asgard archaea ecophysiology (http://nebula.wsimg.com/cd7d3e4d7def0eed4144485bcaf634ff?AccessKeyId=48B9AC89493A56C67DF6&disposition=0&alloworigin=1) -
-LDEO: Associate Research Scientist/Assistant Director, Education & Outreach for USSSP (https://pa334.peopleadmin.com/postings/5440) -
-U of Georgia: Assistant or Associate Professor - Biological Oceanography (https://www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/126262) -
-WWU: Assistant Professor in Marine Molecular Biology (https://employment.wwu.edu/cw/en-us/job/497146/assistant-professor-in-marine-molecular-biology) -
