Arctic iron oxidizing bacteria mats

Continuous permafrost across the Arctic hosts aquifers confined to the shallow active layer, which thaws annually. These shallow aquifers create short flow paths for water and short water residence times, thus allowing for reduced fluids, containing ferrous iron, to return to the oxic zone quickly. These conditions permit extensive habitat space for iron-oxidizing bacteria to form copious biogenic ferric iron mats, which are known to interact with the methane and phosphorus cycles. Our goal was to survey the diversity of microorganisms residing in the iron oxide mats.