부산대학교 도서관

The Northern Baffin Bay between Greenland and Canada is a remote Arctic area restricted in primary production by seasonal ice cover, with presumably low sedimentation rates, carbon content and microbial activities in its sediments. Our aim was to study the so far unknown subseafloor geochemistry and microbial populations driving seafloor ecosystems. Shelf sediments had the highest organic carbon content, numbers ofBacteriaandArchaea, and microcosms inoculated from Shelf sediments showed highest sulfate reduction and methane production rates. Sediments in the central deep area and on the southern slope contained less organic carbon and overall lower microbial numbers. Similar 16S rRNA gene copy numbers ofArchaeaandBacteriawere found for the majority of the sites investigated. Sulfate in pore water correlated withdsrAcopy numbers of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes and differed between sites. No methane was found as free gas in the sediments, andmcrAcopy numbers of methanogenicArchaeawere low. Methanogenic and sulfate-reducing cultures were enriched on a variety of substrates including hydrocarbons. In summary, the Greenlandic shelf sediments contain vital microbial communities adapted to their specific environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]