Life under Extreme Conditions - A Physico-Chemical VIEW

Life under Extreme Conditions - A Physico-Chemical VIEW

Author(s): Roland Winter 

Publication: Bunsen-Magazin 2022, 2, 49-52

Publisher: Deutsche Bunsen-Gesellschaft für physikalische Chemie e.V., Frankfurt

Language: English

DOI: 10.26125/znmb-0f32

Abstract: Remarkably, most of our biosphere on Earth is in the realm of environmental extremes, including the hydrothermal vents in the deep sea and the cold and high hydrostatic pressure habitats in the ocean depths. The ocean covers more than 70% of our planet’s surface, and the average pressure encountered is 400 bar. Recent drilling explorations indicate that marine and continental subsurface environments are habitable to depths greater than 5 km, and that this vast habitable environment may host a significant fraction of the total microbial biomass on Earth. 

Cite this:  R. Winter, Bunsen-Magazin 2022, 2, 49-52, DOI: 10.26125/znmb-0f32

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