The course is designed for undergraduate and graduate students interested in studying life thriving in high-temperature environments. The objective of this course is to provide an overview for biological systems and their interactions with geological processes in geothermal springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents.

The course will cover:
1. Geological setting of geothermal and hydrothermal environments
2. Chemical and physical properties of hot fluids
3. Fluid-rock interactions (I): aqueous geochemistry
4. Fluid-rock interactions (II): gas geochemistry
5. Free energy regulation
6. Phylogeny and diversity
7. Physical limits to life, microbial ecology
8. Symbiosis
9. Physiological ecology
10. Trophic ecology
11. Community dynamics
12. Global distribution and comparisons
13. Biogeography
14. Case studies (I): geothermal springs
15. Case studies (II): mid-ocean ridges
16. Perspectives

Field trips to hot springs will be arranged and participation is required.

Materials:
The subuseafloor biosphere at mid-ocean ridges, 2004, Wilcock, W. S. D., DeLong, E. F., Kelley, D. S., Baross, J. A., Cart, S. C., editors, Geophysical Monograph 144, 399p., AGU.
The ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, 2000, Van Dover, C. L., 423p., Princeton University Press.
10 selected papers.

Grading:
Participation 40%, presentation 20% and homework 20%, field trip 20%.