What is so significant about oxides containing iron?
Danielle: Iron is the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. It plays a major role, like bacteria, in mineral formation by using its surface to immobilize dissolved elements. If we have bacteria nucleating iron oxide, iron oxide can immobilize trace elements. Jeff: How did you get into studying geo-microbiology? Danielle: I was tired of looking at Ordovician rocks, which I thought were too old. I wanted something recent so I went into studying things that are, say, 3 months old. That’s why I turned to recently formed environments like the vents. They are forming as we speak.
