Continental freshwater systems have now been shown to be globally significant sources of methane, but there are still large uncertainties associated with freshwater methane fluxes. Studies to date have mainly focused on either ebullition of bubbles originating from sediments or on diffusive fluxes of dissolved methane across the air–water interface. We examined the potential influence of a new ...

In two intertidal marshes, the vertical distribution in the sediment and inhibition by ammonium of methane oxidation were investigated by slurry incubation experiments. The two sites differ in their dominant vegetation type, i.e., reed and bulrush, and in their heights above sea level. The reed site was elevated with respect to the bulrush site, resulting in a lower frequency and duration of fl...

Methane (CH4) is the most abundant organic trace gas in the atmosphere. In the distant past, variations in natural sources of methane were responsible for trends in atmospheric methane levels recorded in ice cores. Since the 1700s, rapidly growing human activities, particularly in the areas of agriculture, fossil fuel use, and waste disposal, have more than doubled methane emissions. Atmospheri...

Methane is known to be one of the major greenhouse gases. On a global scale, livestock farming may contribute 18% of total greenhouse gas emissions. Though methane contribution is less than 2% of all the factors leading to global warming, it plays an important role because it is 21 times more effective than carbon dioxide. Methane emission is a direct result of the fermentation process performe...

Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Technology to be presented with due permission for public examination and debate in Auditorium Abstract: The current study analyzes the different modes of variation in methane fluxes from different microsites of a boreal mire. The results emphasize the importance of microsite characteristics, water table and vegetation cover for methane fluxes. Water lev...

Biological methane oxidation is a globally relevant process that mediates the flux of an important greenhouse gas through both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways. However, measuring these metabolic rates presents many obstacles, from logistical barriers to regulatory hurdles and poor precision. Here we present a new approach for investigating microbial methane metabolism based on hydrogen...

In response to warming climate, methane can be released to Arctic Ocean sediment and waters from thawing subsea permafrost and decomposing methane hydrates. However, it is unknown whether methane derived from this sediment storehouse of frozen ancient carbon reaches the atmosphere. We quantified the fraction of methane derived from ancient sources in shelf waters of the U.S. Beaufort Sea, a reg...

When terrestrial plants were identified as producers of the greenhouse gas methane, much discussion and debate ensued not only about their contribution to the global methane budget but also with regard to the validity of the observation itself. Although the phenomenon has now become more accepted for both living and dead plants, the mechanism of methane formation in living plants remains to be ...

Rates of hydrogen and methane production were compared in caecal and faecal homogenates in six methane producers. Faecal homogenates produced hydrogen and methane in the absence of and after the addition of lactulose, whereas caecal homogenates produced hydrogen but little methane.

The dynamics of sulfate reduction, methane production, and denitrification were investigated in a permanently waterlogged alder swamp. Molybdate, an inhibitor of sulfate reduction, stimulated methane production in soil slurries, thus suggesting competition for common substrates between sulfate-reducing and methane-producing bacteria. Acetate, hydrogen, and methanol were found to stimulate both ...