Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 08/17/2013 - 11:48
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Arctic Sunlight and Microbial Interactions

Hi Mr Taterka, I have been reading your journals and I am very interested in the involvement of microbial communities in your research. You mention that you were conducting research on the rates at which microbes convert DOM into CO2. Does this data directly correlate to the amount of CO2 that is being released into the air? If so, can you are use this data to figure out the rate at which CO2 is being released?

Thanks! Jenna Ficula

Mon, 08/19/2013 - 12:33

Anonymous

Jenna -
Good question! You hit on a really complicated area. The team is just starting to get a handle on the types of microbial communities that are present in places at different times, and just starting to relate that to the rates at which they break down DOM. One of the challenges is that the microbial community changes all the time, as does the quantity and quality of DOM. So at this point there's no way to say exactly what microbial community exists where, what type of DOM they have access to, and how fast they generate CO2. But we're working on it.
- Mr. T