Biogeophysics is a subdiscipline of
geophysics
Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. The term ''geophysics'' som ...
concerned with how plants, microbial activity and other organisms alter geologic materials and affect geophysical signatures.
Introduction
The activities of the microbes are measured using geophysical imaging techniques. A lot of these techniques are based on the measurement of electric potential anomalies, which in this case can arise from microbes, their growth, metabolic by-products, and microbially mediated processes. The primary way in which these anomalies are generated can be explained by the
electrical double layer
A double layer (DL, also called an electrical double layer, EDL) is a structure that appears on the surface of an object when it is exposed to a fluid. The object might be a solid particle, a gas bubble, a liquid droplet, or a porous body. The D ...
. The effects are most visible when low frequency field is used as the surface charge of microbes is of low mobility.
See also
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Astrobiology
Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...
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Biogeology
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Exploration geophysics
Exploration geophysics is an applied branch of geophysics and economic geology, which uses physical methods, such as seismic, gravitational, magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic at the surface of the Earth to measure the physical properties of ...
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Geomicrobiology
Geomicrobiology is the scientific field at the intersection of geology and microbiology and is a major subfield of geobiology. It concerns the role of microbes on geological and geochemical processes and effects of minerals and metals to microb ...
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Near-surface geophysics
References
Further reading
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External links
American Geophysical Union Biogeosciences SectionJournal of Geophysical Research - BiogeosciencesEuropean Geosciences Union (EGU) Division on Biogeosciences (BG)
Biogeosciences (journal published by the EGU)Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics
Geomicrobiology
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