New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents and volcanic environments are a consequence of tectonic forces and fluid circulation near earth’s surface. Along the Tierra Amarilla Anticline there are CO2-rich mound springs that are also a consequence of interactions between deeply sourced (“endogenic”) fluids and the extensional character of the earth’s surface.

Archaeal communities similar to those found in Yellowstone National Park are known to utilize chemical species within the Tierra Amarilla Anticline for metabolic processes. In this study we prepared oligotrophic media to culture microorganisms from both water and iron and sulfide rich muds at the Tierra Amarilla Anticline. We also sampled the springs for gas and water chemistry and established an analytical geochemistry dataset. This dataset provided us with useful thermodynamic constraints used in a geochemical computer code. The values from the computer code were then used to build a comprehensive list of potential metabolic reactions. We were able to predict energy available to fuel specific fungal and bacterial species found at the Tierra Amarilla site.

There is a flora of microbial life in these springs, and knowledge of the microbial bioenergetics in these systems is limited. By establishing how this location acts thermodynamically, we can come one step closer to defining the relationship between microbial and geochemical interactions in extreme environments by providing pertinent information that will help predict microbial growth parameters in other CO₂-rich springs.