Research Highlight: Extremophiles Unite!
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Published: 13 June 2011
Scripps geologist Hubert Staudigel leads research in Antarctica’s dry valleys, testing how extremophile microbes survive by oxidizing volcanic glass—offering clues to Earth’s earliest life and life in extreme environments like volcanoes.
Keywords: Hubert Staudigel, volcanic glass, early Earth, chemolithotrophs, Mount Erebus, McMurdo Sound, microbial life
Scripps Researchers Discover New Force Driving Earth's Tectonic Plates
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Published: 6 July 2011
Scripps scientists discovered mantle plumes as a new force driving plate tectonics, influencing Indian and African plate motions. Their study links a plume beneath India 70 million years ago to rapid plate shifts and massive volcanic activity.
Keywords: Scripps Oceanography, Indian plate, Deccan Traps, Réunion hotspot, geophysics
Voyager: Some animals live deep in the ocean at great depths and pressure. How do you study them? Won't they die when you remove them from their native environment?
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Published: 1 August 2011
Deep-sea animals face lethal pressure and temperature changes at the surface. Scientists either study them in situ or re-pressurize them quickly in special tanks. Some, like shrimp, can survive months under lab conditions if kept cold and pressurized.
Keywords: deep-sea biology, pressure adaptation, re-pressurization, marine research, deep-sea shrimp, cold temperature, survival
