Microbiological weathering of rocks and its effect on global material circulation

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24654160
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Geology
• Research Institution: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (2013-2014); Tokyo Institute of Technology (2012)
• Principal Investigator: IWAMORI Hikaru 独立行政法人海洋研究開発機構, 地球内部物質循環研究分野, 分野長 (80221795)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NAKAMURA Hitomi 独立行政法人海洋研究開発機構, 地球内部物質循環研究分野, 研究員 (60572659) ; SUNAMURA Michinari 東京大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (90360867)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 岩石 / 風化 / 化学組成 / 同位体組成 / 微生物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A systematic sampling of Sakurajima and Kita Matsuura lavas has been made to investigate geochemical and microbial variations from the fresh parts up to the weathering shell. Chemical/isotope analysis of the rock and a crowd/genomic analysis of microorganisms have been performed to observe what changes with weathering. Although any of the lava shows systematic chemical composition changes toward the weathered and oxidized shell, isotopic composition was not significantly changed. The fresh part of Sakurajima lava, acid-producing microbe family, such as microorganisms involved in the oxidation-reduction of iron and nitrification microorganisms, has been found, whereas only nitrification microbial family has been detected from the older Kita Matsuura lavas. Iron-oxidation-reduction microbial possibly plays an important role in the initial stage of lava weathering.

Free Research Field

地質学、地球化学、地球物理学