Our Planet

Overview: Microbes are everywhere in the biosphere – in fact where they live determines the extent of the biosphere: from the deep subsurface to the troposphere, in hot springs, salt lakes, acid and alkaline waters, on and inside us and all other life forms, and they are the first colonisers of sterile cooling volcanic lava. And because microbes are ‘the great transformers’ – they metabolise many things that contain carbon and/or energy which they use for growth – they have a major impact on the geology of the planet and its evolution. They mediate the cycling of major elements like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, various metals, etc., of essentially all biological wastes, and of many industrial wastes, some of which are polluting chemicals. They are key players in the production and disassembly of minerals and geological formations and soil, and in the biodeterioration of materials, including works of art. Let’s learn more about the varied impacts of the great microbial transformers on our planet Earth!