BOZEMAN, Mont., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A population study by University of Montana researchers indicates microbes in Yellowstone National Park pools sail to distant pools powered by steam.
The result, to be published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could provide answer questions about how microbes and the viruses infecting them impact their environment, the Montana State University said in a news release Monday
The two-year research project by the Bozeman, Mont., university and Idaho National Laboratory is among the first comprehensive studies of hot pool ecosystems in Yellowstone National Park, the university said. Results may shed light on how viruses survive in hostile surroundings and move among pools, as well as provide help control hot pool environments.
While looking for a relationship between pool conditions and microbe population by studying three pools, researchers found populations of different viruses fluctuated wildly, but pool conditions stayed the same. Researchers found changes in virus populations suggested the viruses migrated from pool to pool.
Because underground water temperatures are so high, subterranean migration seemed unlikely, the university said. The researchers found viruses in air column above pools, suggesting the viruses might be ferried from pool to pool in steam droplets.
