> I'm a micro undergrad and have become fascinated with bac. living
> inside the earth's crust. (Just read a report of finding bac. 4000
> ft down in a drilling operation.) I'm having one bloody damned
> hard time finding any info on this stuff in the lit.
> Any leads on journals/research going on in this area?
> Thanks, DRM
BACTERA AND THEIR ACTIVITY: 2.5 kM down
Extraction from: M.B.Vainshtein, V.A.Samarkin, S.N.Gorlatov -
Processes of sulfate reduction and methanogenesis in the sulfide
waters of the Sochi deposit. Abstr. 9-th Int.Symp.on Biogeochemistry
of Environment: 195. Moscow, VONC AMN USSR, 1989.
The underground sulfide waters of the Great Sochi area were
investigated. The waters are connected with the Cretaceous and
Jurassic limestones situated on the shore and under the bottom of
the Black Sea.
The water samples were taken from 5 Cretaceous wells O.2-O.7
km deep) and 7 Jurassic wells (1.5-2.5 km deep); the range of water
temperatures was 22-42 C. The determined parametrs included: i) the
chemical dates, ii) the rates of sulfate reduction and methano-
genesis (35-S- and 14-C-methods), iii) the isotopic compositions of
carbon and sulphur of the compounds in the solution and rocks.
The abscence of sulfate in all deep wells is evidence of the
completion of its reduction; the addition of SO4" or SO4" with H2
could activate the process in some of them. The exception is the
well "8-RE" (river Kudepsta) where the recent sulfate reduction is
provided by the flooding of sulfate waters into the main flow. In
the sulfide waters hydrogen can be the main substrate for reducing
processes. A culture of sulfate reducing bacteria Desulfobacterium
macesti (G.I.Gogotova, M.B.Vainstein - Description of sulfate-
reducing bacterium Desulfobacterium macestii sp.nov. capable of
autotrophic growth. Microbiology, 1989, v.58, N 1) able of
autotrophic growth with H2 has been isolated from the Jurassic
waters. The rate of recent methanogenesis with CO2 and H2 was 1O-1OO
times higher than with acetate.
The complex of chemical, microbiological and isotopic dates
does not confirm the hypothesis that the Black Sea waters
contributed to the formation of the sulfide waters of the deposit,
but witness to their ancient and biogenic genesis.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I WELLS I 11 I 5 I 1 I 3 I 4 I 1T I 2T I 6T I 1T I 2T I 8
I---I I I RE I RE I RE I RE I I I I I I RE
.. I---I I M I M I M I M I K I M I M I M I H I H I K
.. I---I I I I I I I I I I I
DESCRIPTION I I I I I I I I I I I
------------I----I----I----I----I----I----I----I----I----I----I-----
Depth, km O.2 O.7 O.7 O.7 2.3 1.5 2.O 2.3 2.2 2.5 2.5
Age Cret Cret Cret Cret Jura Jura Jura Jura Jura Jura Jura
Temperature of water, C
.. 22 3O 32 32 45 37 37 39 42 42 4O
Eh, mV -16O -16O -19O -14O - -21O -21O -15O -15O -17O -
pH 6.2 6.2 5.8 5.8 6.6 6.6 6.4 6.6 6.2 6.2 6.9
Cl', g/l 2.6 2.9 2.3 3.2 11.O 15.4 16.O 15.8 13.3 13.3 4.6
SO4", mg S/l 13.5 17.5 O.O O.O O.O O.O O.O O.O O.O O.O 5O.7
H2S, mg S/l 67 91 1OO 114 4OO 4O6 42O 431 432 48O 548
E S/Cl O.O8 O.O9 O.13 O.11 O.11 O.O8 O.O8 O.O8 O.1O O.11 O.39
Rate of SO4"-reduction, mkg S/l-d., after adding of substrates:
+SO4" O.O O.6 O.O O.O O.2 O.O O.O O.O5 O.O 5.6 O.O5
+SO4"+H2 - - - - O.O O.O 87.O O.O5 6.9 1568 O.1
+SO4"+lactate+acetate
.. - - - - O.O O.O O.O O.2 O.O 23.9 -
+SO4"+PO3"'+NH4- - - - O.2 O.O - O.1 O.O O.O -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
***
Mikhail Vainshtein
