Archaea in Past and Present Geobiochemical Processes and Elemental Cycles
1Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
2Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Hanover, Germany
3Department of Geobiology and the Courant Research Centre Geobiology (Geoscience Institute), University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
4UK Centre for Astrobiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Archaea in Past and Present Geobiochemical Processes and Elemental Cycles
Description
Archaea influence earth's geochemical cycles since the Archaean eon until present. Though many representatives are adapted to harsh environments, many others are not extremophilic but are present in temperate seawater and freshwater environments as well as in soil, constituting a relevant proportion of the prokaryotic biomass. Archaea are also important partners in symbioses with other prokaryotes, protists, and animals including humans. In the proposed special issue, we will focus on the relevance of Archaea in early earth's biosphere, the biomarker and biosignatures of Archaea in earth history and the relevant processes behind, the important process of methane cycling (methanogenesis and anaerobic oxidation of methane), and Archaea in elemental cycles, in deep biosphere and in astrobiology. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles focusing on these themes. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Biomarkers and chemical fossils
- Archaea and biomineralization
- Halophilic archaea in evaporites
- Anaerobic oxidation of methane and methanogenesis
- Archaea in extreme environments
- Archaea in microbial communities
- Archaea as symbionts
- Archaea in sponges
- Archaea in astrobiology
Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/arch/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/ according to the following timetable: