Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) will measure hopanoid lipid compounds to evaluate their utility as tracers of biogeochemical processes occurring in the ocean. These compounds are created by a group of bacteria that are an important class of organisms that fix atmospheric nitrogen, thus making nitrogen available to a wide array of marine organisms. The researchers will measure these compounds on samples collected from a range of modern marine environments as well as in laboratory cultures. The research is focused on a pair of hypotheses and four adjoining questions that are aimed at addressing the possibility that certain compounds within this compound class are produced under specific chemical or biological conditions. If such molecular specificity can be identified then these compounds maintain the potential to trace biological and chemical evolutionary information through the course of time. The potential for this work to broadly impact a number of fields in marine geology is partly realized because these compounds appear to occur widely throughout the geologic record. The broader impacts of this research will include support for a graduate student within the MIT-WHOI Joint Program and will involve undergraduate students in the research. In addition the research will foster and strengthen relationships between the two institutions.
