Rock cores down to 2250 m depth, groundwater-bearing fractures, and drilling fluid were sampled for DNA to characterize the subsurface microbial community. In general, microbial biomass was extremely low despite the employment of detection methods widespread in low-biomass environments. The described contamination control measures could support future sampling efforts, and our findings emphasize the use of sequencing extraction controls.

The NICA-BRIDGE workshop proposes a milestone-driven three-phase project to ICDP and later ICDP/IODP involving short- and long-core drilling in the Nicaraguan lakes and in the Pacific Sandino Basin to (1) reconstruct tropical climate and environmental changes and their external controlling mechanisms over several million years, (2) assess magnitudes and recurrence times of multiple natural hazards, and (3) provide baseline environmental data for monitoring lake conditions.

The newly established geodynamic laboratory aims to develop modern, comprehensive, multiparameter observations at depth for studying earthquake swarms, crustal fluid flow, mantle-derived fluid degassing and processes of the deep biosphere. It is located in the West Bohemia–Vogtland (western Eger Rift) geodynamic region and comprises a set of five shallow boreholes with high-frequency 3-D seismic arrays as well as continuous real-time fluid monitoring at depth and the study of the deep biosphere.

The Collisional Orogeny in the Scandinavian Caledonides project provides insights into the deep structure and bedrock of a ca. 400 Ma old major orogen to study deformation processes that are hidden at depth from direct access in modern mountain belts. This paper describes the successful operations at the second site. It provides an overview of the retrieved geological section that differs from the expected and summarises the scientific potential of the accomplished data sets and drill core.