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A research expedition drilled additional than 4,600 feet, into rock that was extremely deep and incredibly old, and found a wide range of biological activity. Microbes had been degrading hydrocarbons, some appeared to be capable of oxidizing methane, and there had been genes active within the process of fixing, or converting from a gas, both nitrogen and carbon. The findings are of interest, in part, mainly because small is recognized about the role the deep ocean crust may perhaps play in carbon storage and fixation. Growing levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas when inside the atmosphere, in turn raise the levels of carbon dioxide inside the oceans.
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