地质微生物学及其发展方向

地质微生物学是在20世纪末发展起来的新的地学分支,主要研究地质环境中的微生物活动过程及其形成的各种地质地球化学记录。通过对现代及地质历史上的各种地质环境,包括极高温,高压,极端酸性,碱性,高盐度,极高放射性,地球深部等环境中微生物的生存和演化,及其和地质环境的相互作用而形成的各种地球化学记录的研究,探讨微生物在过去、现在和将来对生命活动最重要的元素(C,H,O,N,S,Fe等)在全球或局部尺度上的循环作用,从而对微生物的风化作用、成矿作用、地质环境下的微生物生态链及其环境的研究提供重要的科学证据。微生物与矿物的相互作用、极端环境下的微生物和生态及分子地质微生物学是当前地质微生物学研究的重要方向。

Geomicrobiology and Its Progress

Geomicrobiology is a new branch of earth sciences developed since the end of the twentieth century. It studies mainly the microbial processes in geologic environment and all kinds of geochemical records generated in these processes. Through microbial existence and evolution in the earth history at the various extreme environments such as high temperature, high pressure, extreme acidity and alkalinity, high salinity, very high radioactivity, large earth depth, etc. and different kinds of geochemical records in the interactions between microorganisms and their geologic environments, this discipline studies the cycling of life-essential elements(C, H, O, N, S, Fe, etc.) in the global and local scales in relation to microorganisms in the Earth's history to set a context for further research for the microbic weathering, biomineralization, microbic ecocycling in the geologic environment and the ecological environment. The present paper also concerns the interaction of microorganisms with minerals, microbic ecology at the extreme environments, and molecular geomicrobiology.