Sulfate-dependant microbially induced corrosion of mild steel in the deep sea : a 10-year microbiome study

Metal corrosion in seawater has been extensively studied in surface and shallow waters. However, infrastructure is increasingly being installed in deep-sea environments, where extremes of temperature, salinity, and high hydrostatic pressure increase the costs and logistical challenges associated with monitoring corrosion. Moreover, there is currently only a rudimentary understanding of the role of microbially induced corrosion, which has rarely been studied in the deep-sea. We report here an integrative study of the biofilms growing on the surface of corroding mooring chain links that had been deployed for 10 years at ~2 km depth and developed a model of microbially induced corrosion based on flux-balance analysis.National Research Foundation (NRF)Published versionThis study was supported by the National Research Foundation, Prime’s Min‑ ister’s Ofce, Singapore, under its Marine Science Research and Development Program (Award MSRDP-P12) and Competitive Research Program (Award CRP21-2018-0102). Additional support was provided by Singapore’s Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore