Biogeochemical cycles in an anoxic water body, in an oxygen free world.

[samreynolds28]

Hi all,

 

I am looking at what the different biogeochemical processes and cycles would be in a anoxic water body in an oxygen free world. I've come up with a few basic models but am struggling to find anything online so help would be very much appreciated, i.e. various publications, websites, book chapters and preferably if anyone can help to explain them on here.

 

I am primarily looking at Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Hydrogen Sulphide cycles, but obviously all without oxygen.

 

In this 'fantasy word' all other conditions (temp, light, air pressure etc.) are similar to Earth, allowing water with the presence of bacteriochlorophyll to form.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, Thanks.

 

[CharonY]

There is actually no need to venture into fantasy on this one. There is a large body of work available on anoxic metabolism in sediment and water, though it is far from complete. For nitrogen cycles I would check into Anammox, for example. Or you could read up on anaerobic respiration for starters, In terms of books I would recommend standard microbiology books (e.g. Brock) and check out the anaerobes section.

For bacteria of interest I would look specifically for deltaproteobacteria (e.g. Geobacter, Desulfovibrio ) and/or archaea (such as Methanosarcina) as typical model organisms on which you can find a lot of details.

[TheBeardedDude]

Hi all,

 

I am looking at what the different biogeochemical processes and cycles would be in a anoxic water body in an oxygen free world. I've come up with a few basic models but am struggling to find anything online so help would be very much appreciated, i.e. various publications, websites, book chapters and preferably if anyone can help to explain them on here.

 

I am primarily looking at Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Hydrogen Sulphide cycles, but obviously all without oxygen.

 

In this 'fantasy word' all other conditions (temp, light, air pressure etc.) are similar to Earth, allowing water with the presence of bacteriochlorophyll to form.

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, Thanks.

 

 

As CharonY noted, there are a lot of organisms that can and do thrive in anoxic/euxinic settings.

 

The redox ladder below will give you an idea of what groups of organisms live in anoxic settings and how their metabolisms work.