Microbes catalyze countless chemical reactions in nature which control the chemistry of the environment. Aquatic Geomicrobiology looks at these reactions and their effect on the aquatic environments from the perspective of the microbes involved. The volume begins with three introductory chapters outlining the basic principles of microbial systematics, microbial ecology, and chemical thermodynamics. These provide a framework for exploring the microbial control of elemental cycling in the remaining chapters. Readers will learn how microbes control the cycling of elements, the structure of the microbial ecosystems involved, and what environmental factors influence the activities of microbial populations.

■Systematics and Phylogeny■ tructure and Growth of Microbial Populations ■ Thermodynamics and Microbial Metabolism ■ Carbon Fixation and Phototrophy ■ Heterotrophic Carbon Metabolism ■ The Oxygen Cycle ■ The Nitrogen Cycle ■ The Iron and Manganese Cycles ■ The Sulfur Cycle Original ■ The Methane Cycle ■ The Phosphorus Cycle ■ The Silicon Cycle ■ Microbial Ecosystems