[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.67,0:00:03.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It may seem like we're all standing\Non solid earth right now,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.98,0:00:05.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we're not.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.75,0:00:10.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rocks and the dirt underneath us\Nare crisscrossed by tiny little fractures
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.17,0:00:11.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and empty spaces.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.60,0:00:16.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And these empty spaces are filled\Nwith astronomical quantities of microbes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.55,0:00:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as these ones.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.87,0:00:22.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The deepest that we found microbes\Nso far into the earth
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.25,0:00:24.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is five kilometers down.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.16,0:00:26.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So like, if you pointed\Nyourself at the ground
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.34,0:00:28.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and took off running into the ground,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.69,0:00:32.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you could run an entire 5K race\Nand microbes would line your whole path.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.04,0:00:35.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So you may not have ever thought\Nabout these microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.59,0:00:37.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are deep inside earth's crust,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:37.31,0:00:40.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but you probably thought\Nabout the microbes living in our guts.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.29,0:00:42.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you add up the gut microbiomes
Dialogue: 0,0:00:42.13,0:00:44.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of all the people\Nand all the animals on the planet,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.100,0:00:48.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,collectively, this weighs\Nabout 100,000 tons.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:48.93,0:00:53.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a huge biome that we carry\Nin our bellies every single day.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.91,0:00:55.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We should all be proud.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.35,0:00:56.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.48,0:01:00.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it pales in comparison\Nto the number of microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.37,0:01:02.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are covering\Nthe entire surface of the earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.88,0:01:05.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like in our soils,\Nour rivers and our oceans.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.74,0:01:09.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Collectively, these weigh\Nabout two billion tons.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.17,0:01:12.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it turns out that the majority\Nof microbes on earth
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.79,0:01:16.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aren't even in oceans or our guts\Nor sewage treatment plants.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.60,0:01:19.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Most of them are actually\Ninside the earth's crust.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.40,0:01:23.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So collectively,\Nthese weigh 40 billion tons.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.75,0:01:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is one of the biggest\Nbiomes on the planet,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.07,0:01:30.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we didn't even know it existed\Nuntil a few decades ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.85,0:01:33.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So the possibilities\Nfor what life is like down there,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.57,0:01:36.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or what it might do for humans,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.14,0:01:37.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are limitless.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.37,0:01:40.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a map showing a red dot
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.26,0:01:43.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for every place where we've gotten\Npretty good deep subsurface samples
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.64,0:01:45.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with modern microbiological methods,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.49,0:01:46.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you may be impressed
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.89,0:01:49.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we're getting a pretty good\Nglobal coverage,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.23,0:01:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but actually, if you remember\Nthat these are the only places
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.11,0:01:54.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we have samples from,\Nit looks a little worse.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.51,0:01:56.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we were all in an alien spaceship,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.35,0:02:00.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,trying to reconstruct a map of the globe\Nfrom only these samples,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.03,0:02:02.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we'd never be able to do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.22,0:02:05.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So people sometimes say to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.54,0:02:09.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Yeah, there's a lot of microbes\Nin the subsurface, but ...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.08,0:02:10.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aren't they just kind of dormant?"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.71,0:02:13.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is a good point.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.25,0:02:18.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Relative to a ficus plant or the measles\Nor my kid's guinea pigs,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.12,0:02:21.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these microbes probably\Naren't doing much of anything at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.18,0:02:25.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know that they have to be slow,\Nbecause there's so many of them.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.03,0:02:27.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If they all started dividing\Nat the rate of E. coli,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.74,0:02:31.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then they would double the entire\Nweight of the earth, rocks included,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.08,0:02:32.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,over a single night.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.05,0:02:37.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, many of them probably haven't\Neven undergone a single cell division
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.60,0:02:39.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,since the time of ancient Egypt.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.18,0:02:41.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is just crazy.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.66,0:02:47.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, how do you wrap your head\Naround things that are so long-lived?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.27,0:02:50.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I thought of an analogy\Nthat I really love,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.43,0:02:52.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's weird and it's complicated.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.28,0:02:54.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I hope that you can all\Ngo there with me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.47,0:02:55.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Alright, let's try it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.30,0:02:59.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's like trying to figure out\Nthe life cycle of a tree ...
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.17,0:03:01.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if you only lived for a day.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.14,0:03:05.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So like if human life span was only a day,\Nand we lived in winter,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.55,0:03:07.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then you would go your entire life
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.20,0:03:09.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without ever seeing a tree\Nwith a leaf on it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.79,0:03:11.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And there would be so many\Nhuman generations
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.87,0:03:13.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would pass by within a single winter
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.92,0:03:16.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you may not even have access\Nto a history book
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.34,0:03:20.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that says anything other than the fact\Nthat trees are always lifeless sticks
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.16,0:03:21.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that don't do anything.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.72,0:03:23.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, this is ridiculous.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.40,0:03:25.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We know that trees\Nare just waiting for summer
Dialogue: 0,0:03:25.58,0:03:26.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so they can reactivate.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.95,0:03:29.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if the human life span
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.15,0:03:32.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were significantly shorter\Nthan that of trees,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.25,0:03:36.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we might be completely oblivious\Nto this totally mundane fact.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.88,0:03:41.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we say that these deep\Nsubsurface microbes are just dormant,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.83,0:03:46.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are we like people who die after a day,\Ntrying to figure out how trees work?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.60,0:03:48.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What if these deep subsurface organisms
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.52,0:03:50.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are just waiting\Nfor their version of summer,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.85,0:03:53.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but our lives are too short\Nfor us to see it?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.78,0:03:58.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you take E. coli\Nand seal it up in a test tube,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.35,0:03:59.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with no food or nutrients,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.71,0:04:02.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and leave it there for months to years,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.21,0:04:05.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,most of the cells die off, of course,\Nbecause they're starving.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.25,0:04:07.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But a few of the cells survive.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.58,0:04:09.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you take these old surviving cells
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.79,0:04:12.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and compete them,\Nalso under starvation conditions,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.68,0:04:15.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,against a new, fast-growing\Nculture of E. coli,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.88,0:04:19.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the grizzled old tough guys\Nbeat out the squeaky clean upstarts
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.64,0:04:20.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,every single time.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.34,0:04:25.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is evidence there's actually\Nan evolutionary payoff
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.97,0:04:28.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to being extraordinarily slow.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.74,0:04:30.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's possible
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.65,0:04:37.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that maybe we should not equate\Nbeing slow with being unimportant.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:38.40,0:04:41.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe these out-of-sight,\Nout-of-mind microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.11,0:04:43.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could actually be helpful to humanity.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.12,0:04:45.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,OK, so as far as we know,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.43,0:04:47.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are two ways to do\Nsubsurface living.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.87,0:04:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first is to wait for food\Nto trickle down from the surface world,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.54,0:04:56.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like trying to eat the leftovers\Nof a picnic that happened 1,000 years ago.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.07,0:04:58.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is a crazy way to live,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.12,0:05:01.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but shockingly seems to work out\Nfor a lot of microbes in earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.70,0:05:05.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The other possibility\Nis for a microbe to just say,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.14,0:05:07.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Nah, I don't need the surface world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:07.64,0:05:09.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm good down here."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:09.12,0:05:10.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For microbes that go this route,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.82,0:05:14.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they have to get everything\Nthat they need in order to survive
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.48,0:05:16.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from inside the earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.20,0:05:20.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some things are actually\Neasier for them to get.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.68,0:05:22.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They're more abundant inside the earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.58,0:05:26.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like water or nutrients,\Nlike nitrogen and iron and phosphorus,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.42,0:05:27.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or places to live.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:27.62,0:05:30.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These are things that we literally\Nkill each other to get ahold of
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.80,0:05:32.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up at the surface world.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.04,0:05:35.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in the subsurface,\Nthe problem is finding enough energy.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.10,0:05:37.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Up at the surface,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.32,0:05:41.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,plants can chemically knit together\Ncarbon dioxide molecules into yummy sugars
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.43,0:05:44.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as fast as the sun's photons\Nhit their leaves.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.43,0:05:46.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in the subsurface, of course,\Nthere's no sunlight,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.98,0:05:49.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so this ecosystem has to solve the problem
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.72,0:05:52.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of who is going to make the food\Nfor everybody else.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.42,0:05:57.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The subsurface needs something\Nthat's like a plant
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.32,0:05:59.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it breathes rocks.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.64,0:06:02.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Luckily, such a thing exists,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:02.80,0:06:05.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's called a chemolithoautotroph.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:05.15,0:06:06.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.18,0:06:10.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which is a microbe\Nthat uses chemicals -- "chemo,"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.23,0:06:12.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from rocks -- "litho,"
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.48,0:06:15.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make food -- "autotroph."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:15.27,0:06:17.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they can do this\Nwith a ton of different elements.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:17.95,0:06:21.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They can do this with sulphur,\Niron, manganese, nitrogen, carbon,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:21.81,0:06:25.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some of them can use\Npure electrons, straight up.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.53,0:06:27.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like, if you cut the end\Noff of an electrical cord,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:27.97,0:06:29.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they could breathe it like a snorkel.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.90,0:06:31.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.24,0:06:32.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These chemolithoautotrophs
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.76,0:06:35.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take the energy that they get\Nfrom these processes
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.42,0:06:37.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and use it to make food, like plants do.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:37.86,0:06:40.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But we know that plants do more\Nthan just make food.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.10,0:06:43.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They also make a waste product, oxygen,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:43.44,0:06:45.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which we are 100 percent dependent upon.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:45.99,0:06:49.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the waste product\Nthat these chemolithoautotrophs make
Dialogue: 0,0:06:49.30,0:06:51.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is often in the form of minerals,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.29,0:06:55.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like rust or pyrite, like fool's gold,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.90,0:06:57.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or carminites, like limestone.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.68,0:07:05.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So what we have are microbes\Nthat are really, really slow, like rocks,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:06.24,0:07:09.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that get their energy from rocks,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.67,0:07:12.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that make as their waste\Nproduct other rocks.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:13.27,0:07:17.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So am I talking about biology,\Nor am I talking about geology?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.47,0:07:19.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This stuff really blurs the lines.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.63,0:07:20.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:20.66,0:07:22.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So if I'm going to do this thing,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.83,0:07:26.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm going to be a biologist\Nwho studies microbes
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.17,0:07:28.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that kind of act like rocks,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:28.40,0:07:31.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then I should probably\Nstart studying geology.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.80,0:07:34.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what's the coolest part of geology?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.29,0:07:36.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Volcanoes.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.48,0:07:37.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:37.76,0:07:41.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is looking inside the crater\Nof Poás Volcano in Costa Rica.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.85,0:07:45.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many volcanoes on earth arise\Nbecause an oceanic tectonic plate
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.66,0:07:47.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,crashes into a continental plate.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.49,0:07:49.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As this oceanic plate subducts
Dialogue: 0,0:07:49.43,0:07:51.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or gets moved underneath\Nthis continental plate,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:51.82,0:07:54.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things like water and carbon dioxide\Nand other materials
Dialogue: 0,0:07:54.68,0:07:55.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,get squeezed out of it,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.94,0:07:57.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like ringing a wet washcloth.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:58.38,0:08:02.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So in this way, subduction zones\Nare like portals into the deep earth,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.09,0:08:05.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where materials are exchanged between\Nthe surface and the subsurface world.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:05.87,0:08:08.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I was recently invited\Nby some of my colleagues in Costa Rica
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.92,0:08:12.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to come and work with them\Non some of the volcanoes.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.05,0:08:16.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And of course I said yes,\Nbecause, I mean, Costa Rica is beautiful,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.67,0:08:19.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but also because it sits on top\Nof one of these subduction zones.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.48,0:08:23.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We wanted to ask\Nthe very specific question,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.30,0:08:25.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why is it that the carbon dioxide
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.71,0:08:28.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that comes out of this deeply buried\Noceanic tectonic plate
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.71,0:08:30.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is only coming out of the volcanoes?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.84,0:08:34.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why don't we see it distributed\Nthroughout the entire subduction zone?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:34.16,0:08:36.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do the microbes have something\Nto do with that?
Dialogue: 0,0:08:36.66,0:08:40.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So this is a picture of me\Ninside Poás Volcano,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.31,0:08:42.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along with my colleague\NDonato Giovannelli.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.52,0:08:46.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That lake that we're standing next to\Nis made of pure battery acid.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.14,0:08:49.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I know this because we were measuring\Nthe pH when this picture was taken.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:50.36,0:08:53.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And at some point while\Nwe were working inside the crater,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.12,0:08:57.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I turned to my Costa Rican colleague\NCarlos Ramírez and I said,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:57.72,0:09:01.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Alright, if this thing\Nstarts erupting right now,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.11,0:09:02.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what's our exit strategy?"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.27,0:09:06.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And he said, "Oh, yeah,\Ngreat question, it's totally easy.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.44,0:09:09.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just turn around and enjoy the view."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.54,0:09:10.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.86,0:09:12.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Because it will be your last."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.43,0:09:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:13.58,0:09:17.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it may sound like\Nhe was being overly dramatic,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.05,0:09:21.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but 54 days after I was standing\Nnext to that lake,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.83,0:09:23.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this happened.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.28,0:09:24.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Audience: Oh!
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.20,0:09:26.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Freaking terrifying, right?
Dialogue: 0,0:09:26.88,0:09:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughs)
Dialogue: 0,0:09:28.93,0:09:33.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was the biggest eruption\Nthis volcano had had in 60-some-odd years,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:33.31,0:09:35.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and not long after this video ends,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:35.82,0:09:38.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the camera that was taking\Nthe video is obliterated
Dialogue: 0,0:09:38.49,0:09:40.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the entire lake\Nthat we had been sampling
Dialogue: 0,0:09:40.93,0:09:42.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,vaporizes completely.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:42.82,0:09:44.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I also want to be clear
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.64,0:09:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we were pretty sure\Nthis was not going to happen
Dialogue: 0,0:09:47.16,0:09:49.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the day that we were\Nactually in the volcano,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:49.44,0:09:52.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because Costa Rica monitors\Nits volcanoes very carefully
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.10,0:09:53.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through the OVSICORI Institute,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.69,0:09:56.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we had scientists from that institute\Nwith us on that day.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:56.92,0:10:00.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the fact that it erupted\Nillustrates perfectly
Dialogue: 0,0:10:00.03,0:10:02.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that if you want to look\Nfor where carbon dioxide gas
Dialogue: 0,0:10:02.56,0:10:04.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is coming out of this oceanic plate,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:04.45,0:10:07.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then you should look no further\Nthan the volcanoes themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:07.58,0:10:09.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you go to Costa Rica,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.87,0:10:12.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you may notice that in addition\Nto these volcanoes
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.35,0:10:15.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there are tons of cozy little hot springs\Nall over the place.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.07,0:10:19.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of the water in these hot springs\Nis actually bubbling up
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.36,0:10:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from this deeply buried oceanic plate.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:21.69,0:10:25.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And our hypothesis was\Nthat there should be carbon dioxide
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.21,0:10:26.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bubbling up with it,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:26.41,0:10:29.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but something deep underground\Nwas filtering it out.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:29.62,0:10:33.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we spent two weeks\Ndriving all around Costa Rica,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.82,0:10:36.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sampling every hot spring we could find --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.74,0:10:38.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was awful, let me tell you --
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.44,0:10:44.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then, we spent the next two years\Nmeasuring and analyzing data.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:44.10,0:10:47.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And if you're not a scientist, I'll just\Nlet you know that the big discoveries
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.94,0:10:50.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,don't really happen\Nwhen you're in a beautiful hot spring
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.79,0:10:51.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or on a public stage,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:51.97,0:10:54.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they happen when you're hunched\Nover a messy computer
Dialogue: 0,0:10:54.51,0:10:56.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you're troubleshooting\Na difficult instrument,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:56.86,0:10:58.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you're Skyping your colleagues
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.62,0:11:01.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because you are completely\Nconfused about your data.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:01.24,0:11:04.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Scientific discoveries,\Nkind of like deep subsurface microbes,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:04.59,0:11:06.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can be very, very slow.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:07.27,0:11:10.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But in our case,\Nthis really paid off this one time.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.64,0:11:14.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We discovered that literally\Ntons of carbon dioxide
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.94,0:11:18.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were coming out of this\Ndeeply buried oceanic plate.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:18.15,0:11:20.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the thing that was keeping\Nthem underground
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.52,0:11:23.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and keeping it from being released\Nout into the atmosphere
Dialogue: 0,0:11:23.54,0:11:25.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was that deep underground,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:25.12,0:11:29.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underneath all the adorable sloths\Nand toucans of Costa Rica,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:29.13,0:11:30.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were chemolithoautotrophs.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.34,0:11:34.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These microbes and the chemical processes\Nthat were happening around them
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.86,0:11:37.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were converting this carbon dioxide\Ninto carbonate mineral
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.64,0:11:39.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and locking it up underground.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:39.59,0:11:41.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Which makes you wonder:
Dialogue: 0,0:11:41.91,0:11:45.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If these subsurface processes\Nare so good at sucking up
Dialogue: 0,0:11:45.43,0:11:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all the carbon dioxide\Ncoming from below them,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:48.04,0:11:50.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could they also help us\Nwith a little carbon problem
Dialogue: 0,0:11:50.52,0:11:52.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we've got going on up at the surface?
Dialogue: 0,0:11:53.01,0:11:57.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Humans are releasing enough\Ncarbon dioxide into our atmosphere
Dialogue: 0,0:11:57.36,0:12:00.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we are decreasing\Nthe ability of our planet
Dialogue: 0,0:12:00.35,0:12:02.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to support life as we know it.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.70,0:12:05.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And scientists and engineers\Nand entrepreneurs
Dialogue: 0,0:12:05.16,0:12:07.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are working on methods\Nto pull carbon dioxide
Dialogue: 0,0:12:07.69,0:12:08.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,out of these point sources,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.00,0:12:11.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that they're not released\Ninto the atmosphere.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.35,0:12:12.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they need to put it somewhere.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:13.02,0:12:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So for this reason,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.22,0:12:17.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we need to keep studying places\Nwhere this carbon might be stored,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.58,0:12:19.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,possibly in the subsurface,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.90,0:12:22.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to know what's going to happen to it\Nwhen it goes there.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:22.57,0:12:26.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Will these deep subsurface microbes\Nbe a problem because they're too slow
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.06,0:12:27.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to actually keep anything down there?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:27.97,0:12:29.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or will they be helpful
Dialogue: 0,0:12:29.40,0:12:33.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they'll help convert this stuff\Nto solid carbonate minerals?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:33.71,0:12:36.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we can make such a big breakthrough
Dialogue: 0,0:12:36.16,0:12:38.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just from one study\Nthat we did in Costa Rica,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:38.57,0:12:41.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then imagine what else\Nis waiting to be discovered down there.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:41.89,0:12:47.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This new field of geo-bio-chemistry,\Nor deep subsurface biology,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.58,0:12:49.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or whatever you want to call it,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:49.14,0:12:50.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is going to have huge implications,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.01,0:12:53.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not just for mitigating climate change,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:53.40,0:12:57.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but possibly for understanding\Nhow life and Earth have coevolved,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:57.61,0:13:02.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or finding new products that are useful\Nfor industrial or medical applications.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.34,0:13:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Maybe even predicting earthquakes
Dialogue: 0,0:13:04.62,0:13:06.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or finding life outside our planet.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:06.84,0:13:09.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It could even help us understand\Nthe origin of life itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.83,0:13:13.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Fortunately, I don't have\Nto do this by myself.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.96,0:13:17.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have amazing colleagues\Nall over the world
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.31,0:13:20.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who are cracking into the mysteries\Nof this deep subsurface world.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.83,0:13:26.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it may seem like life\Nburied deep within the Earth's crust
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.66,0:13:30.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is so far away from our daily experiences\Nthat it's kind of irrelevant.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:31.36,0:13:35.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the truth is that this weird slow life
Dialogue: 0,0:13:35.08,0:13:38.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,may actually have the answers\Nto some of the greatest mysteries
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.62,0:13:39.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of life on Earth.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.22,0:13:41.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.40,0:13:46.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)