Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Aquatic habitats beneath ice masses contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling important greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4). A large methane reservoir is thought to exist beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, but its quantity, source and ultimate fate are poorly understood. For inst...
Published in: | Nature Geoscience |
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/5d94a189-6d8f-4a7d-9863-4e260747db40 2023-12-31T09:59:08+01:00 Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Michaud, Alexander B. Dore, John E. Achberger, Amanda M. Christner, Brent C. Mitchell, Andrew C. Skidmore, Mark L. Vick-Majors, Trista J. Priscu, John C. 2017-08 https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/microbial-oxidation-as-a-methane-sink-beneath-the-west-antarctic-ice-sheet(5d94a189-6d8f-4a7d-9863-4e260747db40).html https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2992 eng eng https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/microbial-oxidation-as-a-methane-sink-beneath-the-west-antarctic-ice-sheet(5d94a189-6d8f-4a7d-9863-4e260747db40).html info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Michaud , A B , Dore , J E , Achberger , A M , Christner , B C , Mitchell , A C , Skidmore , M L , Vick-Majors , T J & Priscu , J C 2017 , ' Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet ' , Nature Geoscience , vol. 10 , no. 8 , pp. 582-586 . https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2992 SUBGLACIAL LAKE WHILLANS METHANOTROPHIC BACTERIA TEMPERATURE-CHANGES CARBON SEA SEDIMENTS HYDROGEN ENERGY DIVERSITY RATES article 2017 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2992 2023-12-07T00:02:14Z Aquatic habitats beneath ice masses contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling important greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4). A large methane reservoir is thought to exist beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, but its quantity, source and ultimate fate are poorly understood. For instance, O-2 supplied by basal melting should result in conditions favourable for aerobic methane oxidation. Here we use measurements of methane concentrations and stable isotope compositions along with genomic analyses to assess the sources and cycling of methane in Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) in West Antarctica. We show that sub-ice-sheet methane is produced through the biological reduction of CO2 using H-2. This methane pool is subsequently consumed by aerobic, bacterial methane oxidation at the SLW sediment-water interface. Bacterial oxidation consumes >99% of the methane and represents a significant methane sink, and source of biomass carbon and metabolic energy to the surficial SLW sediments. We conclude that aerobic methanotrophy may mitigate the release of methane to the atmosphere upon subglacial water drainage to ice sheet margins and during periods of deglaciation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet West Antarctica Aarhus University: Research Nature Geoscience 10 8 582 586 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
SUBGLACIAL LAKE WHILLANS METHANOTROPHIC BACTERIA TEMPERATURE-CHANGES CARBON SEA SEDIMENTS HYDROGEN ENERGY DIVERSITY RATES |
spellingShingle |
SUBGLACIAL LAKE WHILLANS METHANOTROPHIC BACTERIA TEMPERATURE-CHANGES CARBON SEA SEDIMENTS HYDROGEN ENERGY DIVERSITY RATES Michaud, Alexander B. Dore, John E. Achberger, Amanda M. Christner, Brent C. Mitchell, Andrew C. Skidmore, Mark L. Vick-Majors, Trista J. Priscu, John C. Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
topic_facet |
SUBGLACIAL LAKE WHILLANS METHANOTROPHIC BACTERIA TEMPERATURE-CHANGES CARBON SEA SEDIMENTS HYDROGEN ENERGY DIVERSITY RATES |
description |
Aquatic habitats beneath ice masses contain active microbial ecosystems capable of cycling important greenhouse gases, such as methane (CH4). A large methane reservoir is thought to exist beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, but its quantity, source and ultimate fate are poorly understood. For instance, O-2 supplied by basal melting should result in conditions favourable for aerobic methane oxidation. Here we use measurements of methane concentrations and stable isotope compositions along with genomic analyses to assess the sources and cycling of methane in Subglacial Lake Whillans (SLW) in West Antarctica. We show that sub-ice-sheet methane is produced through the biological reduction of CO2 using H-2. This methane pool is subsequently consumed by aerobic, bacterial methane oxidation at the SLW sediment-water interface. Bacterial oxidation consumes >99% of the methane and represents a significant methane sink, and source of biomass carbon and metabolic energy to the surficial SLW sediments. We conclude that aerobic methanotrophy may mitigate the release of methane to the atmosphere upon subglacial water drainage to ice sheet margins and during periods of deglaciation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Michaud, Alexander B. Dore, John E. Achberger, Amanda M. Christner, Brent C. Mitchell, Andrew C. Skidmore, Mark L. Vick-Majors, Trista J. Priscu, John C. |
author_facet |
Michaud, Alexander B. Dore, John E. Achberger, Amanda M. Christner, Brent C. Mitchell, Andrew C. Skidmore, Mark L. Vick-Majors, Trista J. Priscu, John C. |
author_sort |
Michaud, Alexander B. |
title |
Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_short |
Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_full |
Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_fullStr |
Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet |
title_sort |
microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the west antarctic ice sheet |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/microbial-oxidation-as-a-methane-sink-beneath-the-west-antarctic-ice-sheet(5d94a189-6d8f-4a7d-9863-4e260747db40).html https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2992 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Ice Sheet West Antarctica |
op_source |
Michaud , A B , Dore , J E , Achberger , A M , Christner , B C , Mitchell , A C , Skidmore , M L , Vick-Majors , T J & Priscu , J C 2017 , ' Microbial oxidation as a methane sink beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet ' , Nature Geoscience , vol. 10 , no. 8 , pp. 582-586 . https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2992 |
op_relation |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/microbial-oxidation-as-a-methane-sink-beneath-the-west-antarctic-ice-sheet(5d94a189-6d8f-4a7d-9863-4e260747db40).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2992 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
582 |
op_container_end_page |
586 |
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