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Tectonic Pump Closes the Evolutionary Loop for Long-buried Subseafloor Microbes

Description: 

Deep marine sediments host one of Earth’s largest microbial biospheres, but the vast majority of cells in this environment persist in a non-growth state for thousands to millions of years, trapped underneath many kilometers of sediments. For natural selection to drive adaptation for such extraordinary long-term survival, mechanisms must exist that are sufficiently powerful to exhume these living populations up to surficial sediments where higher quality food sources allow cell proliferation, natural selection for long-lived traits, and dispersal to pass genetic adaptations to populations worldwide. Here, we propose subduction zone earthquakes as the missing mechanism for deep sediment microbial migration, reactivation, and reproduction. Our models show that slip-driven water circulation in subduction-zone outer wedges produces global fluxes exceeding 1E6 Gt/Myr, sufficient to transport 1E26-1E30 cells/Myr. The tectonic pump is capable of returning microbial communities buried kilometers deep to the surface where they can pass adaptive genetic mutations to the next generation and be dispersed in the overlying water, forming a natural selection loop that selects for extremely long lifespans.

Session: Linking Subduction Zone Processes and Cascading Hazards in Alaska, Cascadia, Chile and Beyond - III

Type: Oral

Date: 4/16/2026

Presentation Time: 05:15 PM (local time)

Presenting Author: Zhengze Li

Student Presenter: Yes

Invited Presentation: 

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