The AOG unit at UW is composed of three labs. This is the web site for Rick Keil’s lab. You can also visit Anitra Ingalls’ web zone and Julian Sachs’ web site.
The broadly defined goal of the Rick Keil’s AOG group is to understand the factors that control organic matter preservation in marine and freshwater systems. We are interested in mechanisms that control the extent to which bacteria degrade different forms of organic matter.
We approach the problem primarily from the organic-end, studying the compounds that bacteria leave behind in an effort to determine why they were not degraded. Since the organic matter preserved in marine sediments contains one of the most comprehensive records of life and climate over the last 300,000,000 years, understanding the things that alter and influence the record is key to deciphering the record itself. One analogy for this is to imagine a CD containing some amazing music (Pearl Jam? Wagner?). You might want to listen to it, but if the CD is scratched and dirty, then information has been altered or lost. The CD may be unplayable or it may skip around. The original and altered (dirty) data bits are what we study, and we attempt to use the ‘readable’ record to understand the lost material so we can hear the recording.
What compound types do we study? Our primary focus is on amino acids, proteins and lignins. We also have the capability to investigate a series of other compound types including simple sugars, organic acids, PAHs and alkanes. We also make two types of ‘bulk’ measurements; elemental analysis of C, N and H, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to evaluate surface concentrations and compositions of all elements. Since many of the processes we are interested in occur in sediments, we also have capabilities to evaluate mineralogy and mineral surface characteristics.
Follow these links to our major research themes on the organic-mineral interactions:
- sorptive preservation
- mineral aggregation
- mineral ballast and oxygen exposure time
We also evaluate degradation of organic matter from the microbial perspective. We measure degradation rates and methods of degradation, and bacterial growth rates and population dynamics. Using a combination of molecular ecology and molecular chemistry approaches, we study the specific batceria that mediate carbon transformations in the oceans and then the mechanisms of transformation.
Follow these links to our two major research themes from the microbial-end:
Some of our research so thoroughly blends the organic- and microbial- ends that the research cannot be easily pegged to one approach. Follow these links to our integrated research themes:
- Protein Mass Spectrometry
- Oxygen Exposure Time
- Clayoquot Sound Expeditions
- Environmental Spices
Our approach places us squarely at the center of two rapidly growing areas of research- microbial ecology and carbon cycling. This interface is valuable for a variety of reasons. It provides fundamental information of carbon cycling in the biosphere and geosphere, a frame to place carbon models and climate predictions within, and a direct record of ecological conditions in the ocean.
