Directory

Start date:
November 2015
End date:
December 2015
Locations:
Lake Joyce
Principle Investigator:
Dr. Dawn Yvonne Sumner
Organisation:
University of California Davis
Researchers will characterize microbial mats that are growing on the floor of Lake Joyce. Previous results demonstrate that these mats are morphologically similar to fossil mats that are 2.5 to 3 billion years old in diverse locations around the globe. They will use the living mats in Lake Joyce to develop a model for biological, sedimentological, and geochemical processes that influence microbial mat morphology and will use that model to help constrain processes influencing ancient mat growth.