Amanda Labrado STEM Development Program Coordinator all91@uw.edu Phone 206-221-4546 |
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Interns Experience Research At Sea Undergraduate participants in DINOSIP (the Diverse + Inclusive Naval Oceanographic Summer Internship Program) gain hands-on experience with oceanographic sampling methods and technology on the R/V Rachel Carson. This is the first cohort of DINOSIP interns who spent their summer with APL-UW mentors to conduct research, participate in professional development, build community with young scientists, and learn how to navigate a career in maritime and oceanographic STEM fields. |
19 Sep 2023
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Publications |
2000-present and while at APL-UW |
Origin and modern microbial ecology of secondary mineral deposits in Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park, NV, USA Havlena, Z.E., and 7 others including A.L. Labrado, "Origin and modern microbial ecology of secondary mineral deposits in Lehman Caves, Great Basin National Park, NV, USA," Geobiology, 22, doi:10.1111/gbi.12594, 2024. |
More Info |
3 May 2024 |
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Lehman Caves is an extensively decorated high desert cave that represents one of the main tourist attractions in Great Basin National Park, Nevada. Although traditionally considered a water table cave, recent studies identified abundant speleogenetic features consistent with a hypogenic and, potentially, sulfuric acid origin. Here, we characterized white mineral deposits in the Gypsum Annex (GA) passage to determine whether these secondary deposits represent biogenic minerals formed during sulfuric acid corrosion and explored microbial communities associated with these and other mineral deposits throughout the cave. Powder X-ray diffraction (pXRD), scanning electron microscopy with electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and electron microprobe analyses (EPMA) showed that, while most white mineral deposits from the GA contain gypsum, they also contain abundant calcite, silica, and other phases. Gypsum and carbonate-associated sulfate isotopic values of these deposits are variable, with δ34SV-CDT between +9.7% and +26.1%, and do not reflect depleted values typically associated with replacement gypsum formed during sulfuric acid speleogenesis. Petrographic observations show that the sulfates likely co-precipitated with carbonate and SiO2 phases. Taken together, these data suggest that the deposits resulted from later-stage meteoric events and not during an initial episode of sulfuric acid speleogenesis. Most sedimentary and mineral deposits in Lehman Caves have very low microbial biomass, with the exception of select areas along the main tour route that have been impacted by tourist traffic. High-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing showed that microbial communities in GA sediments are distinct from those in other parts of the cave. The microbial communities that inhabit these oligotrophic secondary mineral deposits include OTUs related to known ammonia-oxidizing Nitrosococcales and Thaumarchaeota, as well as common soil taxa such as Acidobacteriota and Proteobacteria. This study reveals microbial and mineralogical diversity in a previously understudied cave and expands our understanding of the geomicrobiology of desert hypogene cave systems. |