Dr. Mike Wilkins
Assistant Professor
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
Colorado State University

Hydraulic fracturing of deep shale formations for hydrocarbon recovery results into the generation of new microbial habitats in the subsurface. Through temporal analyses of produced water samples recovered from multiple, geographically-distinct wells across North America, our research group has revealed conserved patterns of microbial community assembly and carbon cycling in this novel ecosystem. Importantly, insights gained from studies in this environment may be applied to more complex ecosystems such as soils, where physical, chemical, and microbial complexity currently preclude a true mechanistic understanding of ecosystem function.

In this presentation I will discuss the microbial metabolic networks that develop in the deep subsurface and enable microbial communities to