Earthquakes Did Something Unexpected to Life Deep Beneath Yellowstone

Researchers have investigated how earthquakes impacted underground life in Yellowstone, where they thrive far from the Sun’s warmth and energy.

In a study published yesterday in the journal PNAS Nexus, a team studied how small earthquakes in 2021 influenced microbes in the rock and water systems beneath the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field. These life forms draw energy not from photosynthesis but from the chemical reactions related to the movement of water through broken rock. The…