RUST IN DAVEY JONES' LOCKER—Reddish-orange iron oxide (the same chemical compound we commonly refer to as "rust") coats the seafloor on Loihi Seamount, an active underwater volcano 25 miles off the island of Hawaii. The material is made by an abundance of microbes that live and grow by oxidizing iron directly from solid seafloor rocks. To study these newly discovered microbes, scientists have established FeMO—the Iron (Fe)-oxidizing Microbe Observatory—on Loihi. (Terry Kirby, University of Hawaii.)[back]
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