Massachusetts Institute of Technology
A Microbial Survey of Lake Kivu: Mechanisms of Nitrogen Cycling
Abstract
dc:description.abstractOcean Anoxic Events (OAEs) are periods in Earth’s history during which large por-tions of the oceans contain decreased amounts of oxygen. OAEs can be very difficult to study since modern oceans are generally well-oxygenated. Here Lake Kivu, a meromictic lake with deep anoxic layers, is presented as a potential OAE analogue and is used to study a proposed nitrogen cycling mechanism that could explain the characteristic 𝛿¹⁵N excursions associated with OAEs. Biomarkers are isolated from sediment samples and analyzed across depth below the lake floor. The results are consistent with a biologically mediated nitrogen cycling mechanism, shedding more light on a potential mechanism to explain nitrogen cycling in OAEs.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Bachelor
- Department dc:contributor.department
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
- Grantor dc:publisher
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2023
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Przydzial, Kaitlyn
- Advisors dc:contributor.advisor
-
- Summons, Roger E.
- Uveges, Benjamin
Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
- Copyright retained by author(s)
- Licence dc:rights.uri
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Handle dc:identifier.uri
- https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151509
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/151509