BACKGROUND Microbial communities—microbiomes—are intricately linked to human
health and critical ecosystem services. New technologies allow the rapid characterization of …

The deep sea, the largest ecosystem on Earth and one of the least studied, harbours high
biodiversity and provides a wealth of resources. Although humans have used the oceans for …

Methane is the most abundant hydrocarbon in the atmosphere, and it is an important
greenhouse gas, which has so far contributed an estimated 20% of postindustrial global …

Ocean acidification is an undisputed fact. The ocean presently takes up one-fourth of the
carbon CO2 emitted to the atmosphere from human activities. As this CO2 dissolves in the …

The seabed is a diverse environment that ranges from the desert-like deep seafloor to the
rich oases that are present at seeps, vents, and food falls such as whales, wood or kelp. As …

Reduction in methane emissions to the Earth's atmosphere is a critical strategy for tackling
climate change. It is well established that anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) associated …

Submarine mud volcanoes are formed by expulsions of mud, fluids, and gases from deeply
buried subsurface sources. They are highly reduced benthic habitats and often associated …

Very little work has been done to identify and characterise the goods and services of the
sea, and even less for the deep sea. We present a first categorisation and synthesis of deep …

While grounded in the hard sciences of physics, chemistry, geology, and astronomy, as well
as well-accepted principles in the life sciences, astrobiology remains the most speculative of …

Supercritical fluids have different properties compared to regular fluids and could play a role
as life-sustaining solvents on other worlds. Even on Earth, some bacterial species have …