How microorganisms on rock surfaces shape groundwater

How microorganisms on rock surfaces shape groundwater

Deep beneath the Earth's surface, in the pores and crevices of rock, live huge communities of microorganisms. They are invisible to the naked eye—yet they play a central role in the quality of our groundwater and in global cycles of matter. A research team led by Dr. Martin Taubert from the Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse" at the University of Jena has shown that life in the subsurface follows two fundamentally different strateg…

Rock microbes reveal hidden groundwater carbon engine

Berlin, Germany (SPX) Feb 03, 2026 Deep underground, microbial communities living on rock surfaces are emerging as powerful but largely overlooked drivers of groundwater chemistry and carbon storage. A team from the Cluster of Excellence Balance of the Microverse at Friedrich Schiller University Jena has now shown that these attached microbes follow fundamentally different strategies from free-floating cells in groundwater, with