{"id":18431,"date":"2018-10-11T16:24:08","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T20:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugaresearch.uga.edu\/?p=18431"},"modified":"2019-09-18T10:29:16","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T14:29:16","slug":"cold-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.uga.edu\/news\/cold-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold case"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]January in Antarctica is the height of summer, with temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula reaching a balmy 32 degrees F. But for oceanographer James Hollibaugh, a summer cruise aboard the research vessel Lawrence M. Gould means the sun barely dips below the horizon, and glimpses of towering icebergs, pods of whales and flocks of penguins are the reward for 20-hour days hauling up seawater samples from the Southern Ocean\u2019s icy depths.<\/p>\n

Hollibaugh studies microorganisms called archaea, whose discovery just 40 years ago upended scientists\u2019 understanding of the tree of life. Suddenly there were three branches: bacteria, eukaryotes\u2014which include plants and animals\u2014and archaea, which look like bacteria but are biochemically and physically unique. Scientists like Hollibaugh are working to understand archaea\u2019s vast diversity and ubiquity, including their role in the Earth\u2019s oceans and extreme environments, where they thrive.<\/p>\n

Specifically, he is studying a subgroup called thaumarchaea, which take ammonium produced by other organisms and use it as an energy source. By burning it with oxygen, they convert ammonium to nitrate, facilitating removal of nitrogen from the ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is important,\u201d says Hollibaugh, Distinguished Research Professor of Marine Sciences, \u201cbecause one of the problems facing the Earth right now is too much nitrogen.\u201d<\/p>\n