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Project Reports

• Isotopic and Molecular Approaches to Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry (The Evolution of Organic Matter)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• First-Stage Biofilm Formation Under Extreme Conditions in Ice

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.2

• Celestial Influences on Planetary Environments

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 4.3 6.1

• The Planetary Context of Biological Evolution: Subproject: Permo-Triassic Mass Extinction and Its Consequences

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.2 4.3 6.1

• Indigenous Bacteria of Arctic and Antarctic Permafrost

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.3 6.1

• Evolution in Microbe-Based Ecosystems: Desert Springs as Analogues for the Early Development and Stabilization of Ecological Systems

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – K. Freeman

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 5.2 6.1 7.1

• Biogeochemistry of Earth’s Greenhouse Leading to the Rise of Oxygen

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 3.1 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Molecular Survey of Microbial Diversity in Hypersaline Ecosystems, Ecogenomics

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• The Planetary Context of Biological Evolution Subproject: The Proterozoic Oxidiation of the Earth’s Surface

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.1 4.2 5.3 6.1

• Fe Isotope Biosignatures

  The field of Fe isotope geochemistry, which the UW-Madison group has been largely responsible for developing, has matured greatly in the last year.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate and the Terrestrial Biosphere – Capo

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 6.1

• Rapid Rates of Change

  A map of advanced very-high-resolution radiometer — normalized difference vegetation index (AVHRR-NDVI) was produced for the subtropical and higher latitude growing season of South America (Oct-Jan, when El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) effects are more intense) on monthly data from 1981 through 2000.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 6.1

• Early Microbial Ecosystems

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Ecological Genomics

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and the Terrestrial Biosphere – Stewart

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 6.1

• Theoretical Studies of Hydrothermal Synthesis Reactions

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.1

• Fractionation of Transition Metal Isotopes

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 6.1 7.1

• The Virtual Planetary Laboratory – the Life Modules

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.1 5.3 6.1 7.2

• Mineralogical Biosignatures

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 6.1 7.1

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – Ohmoto

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 4.1 4.3 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Micro*scope (http://www.mbl.edu/microscope) – A Web-Based Tool for Microbial Diversity Research

  micro*scope (http://www.mbl.edu/microscope) is an innovative biodiversity bioinformatics web site that greatly improves access to information about microbes

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 5.2 6.1 6.2

• Geobiology and Geochemistry of Early Earth

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 6.1

• Isotopic and Molecular Tracers of Life

  Task 1. Molecular Spectroscopic Investigations into Ancient Biochemistry (Cody, Fogel, Hazen)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Terrestrial Analogs and Martian Meteorites

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 6.1 7.1

• Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Tetinction of Metazoans: Neoproterozoic Variations – Arthur

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Biological Studies of Hydrothermal Systems

  Task 1. Field Studies and Laboratory Characterization of Hydrothermal Vent Microbes (Baross)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.1 7.1

• Organic Molecules as Biosignatures

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1

• Evolution of Biocomplexity From an Ancient Autotrophic Lineage

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.1

• Organic Synthesis at High Temperature

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.2 6.1

• Ecosystem to Biosphere Modeling

  We have developed a simulation model called MBGC (Microbial BioGeoChemistry) to infer effects of major environmental controllers on microbial community structure and function (Decker and Potter, 2002).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.3 6.1 7.2

• Impacts and the Origin, Distribution, and Evolution of Life

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.3 6.1

• Magnetic Biosignatures

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 3.3 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 6.1 7.1

• Causes of Mass Extinction: Isotopic and Paleontological Constraints

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 4.3 6.1

• Symbiosis and the Origin of Multicellularity in Photosynthetic Organisms

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2 5.1 5.2 6.1

• Enzymes of Ancient Metabolic Pathways

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2

• Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Isolation of Psychrophilic Microorganisms

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.4 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2

• Microbial Mat Communities

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Microbe-Mineral Interactions

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.3 6.1 7.1

• Geopulse

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.2

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere – Kump

  Ellen Herman (MS Student) has received some support from the Pennsylvania State Astrobiology Research Center (PSARC) to develop a numerical model of the microbial mat

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.2 6.1