MicrobiologyMarch 29, 2023
Mysterious Microbes in Earth’s Crust Might Help with the Climate Crisis
Wherever we dig and however deep we dig, we find microscopic living organisms. Could they eat the carbon we’re pumping into the air?
Stories by Peter Barry
Pete Barry is a geochemist who is an Associate Scientist in the Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He uses noble gases and stable isotopes to understand the volatile history and chemical evolution of Earth, including the dynamic processes of subduction, mantle convection and surface volcanism, which control the redistribution of chemical constituents between the crust and mantle reservoirs.