Patterns of (trace) metals and microorganisms in the Rainbow hydrothermal vent plume at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Rainbow plume microbes

This study on the extensive Rainbow hydrothermal plume, observed up to 25 km downstream from the vent site, enabled us to investigate how microbial communities and (trace) metal composition change in a natural plume with distance. The (trace) metal and REEs content of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was determined using HR-ICP mass spectrometry and the microbial communities of the neutrally buoyant plume, above plume-, below plume-, and near-bottom water and sediment were characterised by using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing methods. Both vertically in the water column and horizontally along the neutrally buoyant plume, geochemical and biological changes were recorded.

本研究针对在喷口下游最远25公里处观测到的大规模彩虹热液羽流展开，旨在探究自然羽流中微生物群落与（痕量）金属组成随距离的变化规律。本研究通过高分辨电感耦合等离子体质谱法（HR-ICP mass spectrometry）测定了悬浮颗粒物（SPM）中的（痕量）金属与稀土元素（REEs）含量，并采用16S rRNA扩增子测序技术，对中性浮升羽流、羽流上方水体、羽流下方水体、近底层水体以及沉积物内的微生物群落进行了表征。研究同时记录了水体柱内沿垂直方向，以及沿中性浮升羽流的水平方向上的地球化学与生物学变化。