Deep life : the hunt for the hidden biology of Earth, Mars, and beyond / Tullis C. Onstott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Onstott, T. C. (Tullis Cullen), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Adaptation (Biology).

Extreme environments.

Space environment.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (507 pages) : illustrations, photographs

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Deep Life takes readers to uncharted regions deep beneath Earth's crust in search of life in extreme environments and reveals how astonishing new discoveries by geomicrobiologists are helping the quest to find life in the solar system.Tullis Onstott, named one of the 100 most influential people in America by Time magazine, provides an insider's look at the pioneering fieldwork that is shining vital new light on Earth's hidden biology-a thriving subterranean biosphere that scientists once thought to be impossible. Come along on epic descents two miles underground into South African gold mines to experience the challenges that Onstott and his team had to overcome. Join them in their search for microbes in the ancient seabed below the desert floor in the American Southwest, and travel deep beneath the frozen wastelands of the Arctic tundra to discover life as it could exist on Mars.Blending cutting-edge science with thrilling scientific adventure, Deep Life features rare and unusual encounters with exotic life forms, including a bacterium living off radiation and a hermaphroditic troglodytic worm that has changed our understanding of how complex subsurface life can really be. This unforgettable book takes you to the absolute limits of life-the biotic fringe-where today's scientists hope to discover the very origins of life itself.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1: Triassic Park

Chapter 2: The Treasure of Cerro Negro

Chapter 3: Bikers, Bombs, and the Death- o- Meter

Chapter 4: Microbes in Meteorites!

Chapter 5: Life in Deepest, Darkest Africa

Chapter 6: Hunting for Water and Carbon

Chapter 7: The Subterranauts

Chapter 8: A Lot of Breaks and One Lucky Strike

Chapter 9: Life beneath the Ice

Chapter 10: The Worm from Hell

Epilogue

Appendix A: Chronology of the Exploration of Subsurface Life

Appendix B: Chronology of the Meeting of the U.S. DOE's SSP Meetings

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9780691202822

0691202826

OCLC:

961438079