Previous Year Question
With reference to the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) which of the following statements is/are correct?
It is Global Research Programme to outreach role of carbon on earth.
It conducts field observations of deep microbial ecosystem.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Statement 1 is correct. The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) was an international, multidisciplinary global research programme aimed at improving our understanding of the quantities, movements, distribution, forms and properties of carbon within Earth and its role in the global carbon cycle.
A very large proportion of Earth's carbon is not present in the atmosphere or oceans but in the deep interior—the crust, mantle and possibly the core. The DCO focused on understanding this comparatively less explored deep carbon cycle.
Statement 2 is also correct. One of the major research areas of the DCO was Deep Life, which studied microbial ecosystems living far below Earth's surface. Samples and field observations were obtained through continental and oceanic drilling, underground mines and other deep environments.
The four major scientific research themes of the DCO were—
Extreme Physics and Chemistry — behaviour of carbon under extreme pressure and temperature
Reservoirs and Fluxes — deep carbon reservoirs and movement of carbon among them
Deep Energy — deep hydrocarbons and organic compounds
Deep Life — nature and limits of microbial and other life deep within Earth
Current Status
The original Deep Carbon Observatory was a 10-year research programme from 2009 to 2019 and that programme has now been completed.
However, the international scientific community and deep-carbon research developed through it did not end. The scientific legacy of the Deep Carbon Observatory network continues, with ongoing research on deep carbon, deep life and Earth's carbon cycle.