Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Science

Earth's tectonic elevator hauls ancient buried microbes back to the seafloor to revive and spread

In subduction zones, the sites of the world's largest earthquakes, tectonic activity may generate a "pump" that transports long-buried subseafloor microbes back toward the seafloor, according to research presented at the 2026 SSA Annual Meeting.

Earth's tectonic elevator hauls ancient buried microbes back to the seafloor to revive and spread
Image: Phys.org
In subduction zones, the sites of the world's largest earthquakes, tectonic activity may generate a "pump" that transports long-buried subseafloor microbes back toward the seafloor, according to research presented at the 2026 SSA Annual Meeting.

Originally published at Phys.org

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