The Extreme Physics and Chemistry (EPC) community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is an international collaboration of geologists and geophysicists who have come together to transform our understanding of the unique physical and chemical properties of the 90 percent of Earth’s carbon estimated to reside in the planet’s high-pressure, high-temperature interior. EPC researchers study the diverse variety of forms deep carbon takes—solids, magmas, melts, low-density fluids—and examine the physical and chemical transformations carbon undergoes as it rises from the core to the surface and falls from the surface to the core. This grant provides two years of continued core support for the EPC as it moves toward completion of its ambitious research agenda.

The Deep Life community of the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is an international collaboration of researchers who have come together to identify and quantify interactions between deep life and deep Earth carbon, to transform our understanding of the processes that define the diversity and distribution of deep life, and to determine the environmental limits of deep life. This grant provides two years of support to the Deep Life community as it continues its research agenda. Over the next two years the community plans to launch five major field expeditions; conduct genomic?based studies of the diversity and function of deep life; measure and estimate presently unknown quantities like the magnitude of deep Earth biomass and the number of deep Earth endospores; and explore the molecular basis of microbial adaptation to extreme deep subsurface conditions. In addition, Deep Life community scientists will contribute to a DCO-wide modeling and visualization initiative and strengthen the field through the coordination of workshops, community meetings, and fellowships.