Overview of the Volcanic Environment Microbial Observatory
The Volcanic Environment Microbial Observatory (VEMO) is a long-term field project focused on the Eyjafjallajökull volcanic fissure in Iceland and surrounding terrain. Work at the field site is focused on several areas of science:
- investigating the colonization of new volcanic terrains and how biogeochemical cycles become established
- investigating which microbes may play a role in the weathering of volcanic rocks, which contributes to long-term climate regulation and soil formation
- investigating how microbial life recovers from catastrophes and which organisms are the major players in the biosphere's response to these perturbations
- investigating microbial communities at the volcano-glacier interface
- investigating how life makes a living in the extremes of volcanic environments. This work is relevant to astrobiology - understanding the limits of life in volcanic environments and the prospects for life elsewhere, particularly Mars.
The Volcanic Environment Microbial Observatory is a project between the Cockell lab. at the Open University, UK (http://cepsar.open.ac.uk/pers/c.s.cockell/) and Icelandic collaborators: Viggo Marteinsson at Matís (www.matis.is).
The establishment of the VEMO was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.
Contact email: c.s.cockell [at] open.ac.uk
