Stephanie Carr
Hartwick College
2024-2025 Distinguished Lecturer
Life in the marine crustal biosphere
The oceanic crust, located often below a thick layer of sediment, is one of Earth’s most remote habitats. The permeable basement rock hosts a dynamic aquifer, where water isolated from the sea above can circulate. Microorganisms in this crustal biosphere are deprived of sunlight and the planet’s typical food web. Instead, the organisms depend on the minerals and nutrients of the subseafloor aquifer. There is much to learn from these organisms, including their contributions to global biogeochemical cycles and their strategies for surviving in their nutrient and energy-limited habitat. For 27 years, the international ocean drilling community has studied this environment—and the microorganisms living within—using subseafloor borehole observatories. Because the lifestyles of these microorganisms are different from those at the surface, cultivation has been mostly unsuccessful. Thus, much of what we know about these elusive organisms results from genomic analyses. This presentation is an introduction to the borehole observatories of the Juan de Fuca Ridge Flank and our genomic understanding of the unique but abundant microorganisms of the marine crust.
Dr. Stephanie Carr is an associate professor of the biology department at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. Her research focuses on subsurface microbiology. Stephanie earned a BS in biochemistry from Hartwick College and a PhD in geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines, studying the microbiology of Antarctic sediments. As an NSF-funded post-doc, Stephanie worked at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science, investigating genomes of the Juan de Fuca Ridge crustal aquifer. In total, she has spent a total of 166 days at sea, participating in IODP expeditions 318, 365, and other expeditions to the IODP observatories (Juan de Fuca Ridge and North Pond). Stephanie is thrilled to be back at her alma mater, and takes great pride in exposing undergraduate students to collaborative research projects.
LECTURE SCHEDULE
- September 19, 2024 — Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, ME
- October 11, 2024 — Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
- October 14, 2024 — University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA
- November 12, 2024 — Southwestern Oregon Community College, Coos Bay, OR
- November 14, 2024 — Texas A&M University Galveston, Galveston, TX
- March 28, 2025 — Appalachian State University, Boone, NC
