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Microbes Dance to the Beat of the Sun in AGU Postcard
May 19, 2022
A breathtaking photo from NOAA Diver Phil Hartmeyer is shown in our latest Postcard from the Field to the AGU Tumblr page. It depicts a daytime scene from the bottom of the Middle Island Sinkhole near Alpena, Michigan in Lake Huron. Here purple photosynthetic cyanobacteria mostly cover white chemosynthetic sulfur oxidizing bacteria during the daytime, in order to harvest sunlight. Throughout the night, this reverses, with the white bacteria taking over the surface as they seek a balance of oxygen from above and hydrogen sulfide below.