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Brad Bebout Research Scientist |
Short BiographyBrad Bebout has a background in marine sciences and marine biogeochemistry. He received a Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1992 and completed post doctoral fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, (microsensor technology), and at the University of Maryland Horn Point Laboratory, (biogeochemical cycling in microbial mats and marine sediments) before coming to NASA Ames. |
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Statement of Research InterestsI am interested in the way that various elements, but principally nitrogen, are cycled in microbial mat and stromatolite communities. Microbial mats are often found in extremely nutrient poor environments. I am interested in knowing the ways in which nitrogen is obtained by mat microorganisms in these nutrient-poor environments. In addition, I am becoming increasingly interested in the production and consumption of trace gases in microbial mat and stromatolites. NASA hopes to be able to be able to detect the presence of trace gases in the atmospheres of extrasolar planets through such devices as the Terrestrial Planet Finder. We need to know more about the way in which microbial communities affect atmospheric levels of these trace gases in order to help determine which gases, present in what concentrations may be indicative of life. Because of their long history on Earth, and their once wide-spread distribution, it is important to know how trace gases move through microbial mat communities. List of Publications |
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