Groundwater microbial communities reflect geothermal activity on volcanic island.

Studies of the effects of volcanic activity on the Hawaiian Islands are extremely relevant due to the past and current co-eruptions at both Mauna Loa and Kīlauea. The Big Island of Hawai'i is one of the most seismically monitored volcanic systems in the world, and recent investigations of the Big Island suggest a widespread subsurface connectivity between volcanoes. Volcanic activity has the potential to add mineral contaminants into groundwater ecosystems, thus affecting water quality, and making inhabitants of volcanic islands particularly vulnerable due to dependence on groundwater aquifers.

Geology and land use shape nitrogen and sulfur cycling groundwater microbial communities in Pacific Island aquifers.

Resource-constrained island populations have thrived in Hawai'i for over a millennium, but now face aggressive new challenges to fundamental resources, including the security and sustainability of water resources. Characterizing the microbial community in groundwater ecosystems is a powerful approach to infer changes from human impacts due to land management in hydrogeological complex aquifers. In this study, we investigate how geology and land management influence geochemistry, microbial diversity and metabolic functions.