Kinetically Activated Subsurface Micribial Sampler (KASMS)

动力激活地下微生物采样器 (KASMS)

• 批准号: 1739151
• 负责人: Eric Boyd
• 金额: $ 28.98万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-15 至 2022-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1739151&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Kinetically; Activated; Subsurface; Micribial; Sampler

Earthquakes and their after shocks generate energy in the form of seismic waves, heat, strain, fractured rock and chemical reactions producing hydrogen gas. Can the repeated energy pulses from seismic activity stimulate subsurface life that generates methane and acetic acid? Does this microbial activity impact the frequency and distribution of after shocks? In 2017 the International Continental Drilling Program (ICDP) supported DSeis (Drilling into Seismogenic Zones) project will examine a previously unknown fault zone responsible for the 2014 5.5-magnitude Orkney earthquake, South Africa's largest earthquake in over 50 years. At a depth of 3 km in the bottom of Moab Khotsong gold mine, geophysicists and geomicrobiologists will join forces to drill down an additional 600 meters into this still-active fault zone, analyze core samples, install seismic instruments and deploy a Kinetically Activated Subsurface Microbial Sampler (KASMS). KASMS is a novel, portable, autonomous fluid sampling and preservation device that will be triggered by seismic events along the fault zone. The data from this study will significantly advance our understanding of the type of earthquakes that are associated with ultra-deep mining, hydrofracking and fracking brine injections and thus better inform safety and environmental regulations. The high-resolution temporal data will provide the first picture of how subsurface microbial communities respond to environmental stimuli, such as hydrogen gas pulses. If a substantial biomass enhancement is found within the fault zone, then similar ancient fault zones exposed on the surface of Mars may be selected for the Mars 2020 rover mission, the first step in the Mars Sample Return mission series. With the involvement of geophysics, geology, rock mechanics, and geomicrobiology students from Japan, South Africa, Switzerland, Israel, Germany, India, Australia and the United States, DSeis and this project will stimulate cross-disciplinary international STEM education. Through videos of the coring and sampling activity and of the installation and operation of KASMS, and downhole videos of the borehole, DSeis and this project will relate to the public how science is conducted in one of the most extreme environments on the planet and what subsurface life says about the origin and evolution of life on Earth and possibly other planets. This two-year project will design, construct and deploy KASMS, the first fully automated sampling device for geochemical and microbiological studies. KASMS is comprised of a borehole-deployed U-tube fluid sampling system and a discrete sensor array for monitoring the wellbore environment. KASMS will also contain two osmo-samplers combined with mineral coupons to collect biofilms within the fault zone. Unique to the KASMS system is the capability to autonomously respond to seismic events and capture a time progression of fluid samples. These samples will be analyzed for aqueous geochemistry, dissolved gas concentrations and isotopic values, and they will be subsampled using two types of filters with preservatives, one for SEM/TEM microscopy and the other for metagenomic/metatranscriptomic/metaproteomic analyses. During the year that KASMS is deployed at Moab Khotsong gold mine, experiments will be performed with positive and negative controls: samples collected before and after small magnitude seismic events within the fault zone, before, during and after mine detonations, during mining holidays when the mine is inactive and before, during and after the injection of hydrogen and methane gas. After one year KASMS will be retrieved and returned to Princeton University, where it will be available for deployment to other subsurface microbiology sites.

地震及其余震以地震波、热量、应变、岩石破裂和产生氢气的化学反应的形式产生能量。地震活动产生的重复能量脉冲能否刺激产生甲烷和乙酸的地下生命？这种微生物活动是否会影响余震的频率和分布？ 2017 年，国际大陆钻探计划 (ICDP) 支持的 DSeis（地震带钻探）项目将检查一个先前未知的断层带，该断层带导致了 2014 年 5.5 级奥克尼地震，这是南非 50 多年来最大的地震。在 Moab Khotsong 金矿底部 3 公里深处，地球物理学家和地球微生物学家将联手向这个仍然活跃的断层带再钻探 600 米，分析岩心样本，安装地震仪器并部署动力激活地下微生物实验室采样器（KASMS）。 KASMS 是一种新型、便携式、自主流体采样和保存装置，将由断层带沿线的地震事件触发。这项研究的数据将极大地增进我们对与超深采矿、水力压裂和水力压裂盐水注入相关的地震类型的理解，从而更好地为安全和环境法规提供信息。高分辨率时间数据将提供第一张关于地下微生物群落如何响应环境刺激（例如氢气脉冲）的图片。如果在断层带内发现生物量大幅增加，那么火星2020漫游车任务可能会选择暴露在火星表面的类似古代断层带，这是火星样本返回任务系列的第一步。随着来自日本、南非、瑞士、以色列、德国、印度、澳大利亚和美国的地球物理学、地质学、岩石力学和地球微生物学学生的参与，DSeis 和该项目将刺激跨学科的国际 STEM 教育。通过取芯和取样活动以及 KASMS 安装和操作的视频以及钻孔的井下视频，DSeis 和该项目将向公众介绍如何在地球上最极端的环境之一中进行科学以及地下有什么生命讲述了地球上以及可能其他行星上生命的起源和进化。这个为期两年的项目将设计、建造和部署 KASMS，这是第一个用于地球化学和微生物研究的全自动采样装置。 KASMS 由井眼部署的 U 型管流体采样系统和用于监测井眼环境的离散传感器阵列组成。 KASMS 还将包含两个渗透采样器和矿物取样器，用于收集断层带内的生物膜。 KASMS 系统的独特之处在于能够自主响应地震事件并捕获流体样本的时间进程。这些样品将进行水体地球化学、溶解气体浓度和同位素值分析，并将使用两种带有防腐剂的过滤器进行二次取样，一种用于 SEM/TEM 显微镜检查，另一种用于宏基因组/宏转录组/宏蛋白质组分析。在Moab Khotsong金矿部署KASMS的那一年，将进行正控制和负控制的实验：在断层带内小震级地震事件之前和之后、矿井爆炸之前、期间和之后、采矿假期期间收集样本。矿井在注入氢气和甲烷气体之前、期间和之后均处于闲置状态。一年后，KASMS 将被回收并返回普林斯顿大学，在那里它可以部署到其他地下微生物学站点。