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Methane biotransformation in the ocean and its effects on climate change: A review

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Abstract

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Continental margins contain large reservoirs of methane as solid gas hydrate and the dissolved and gaseous forms of methane. Submarine methane seeps along the global continental margins, including the coastal seas, have been estimated to contribute 0.01 to 0.05 Gt of carbon to the atmosphere annually, accounting for between 1% and 5% of the global methane emissions to the atmosphere. Much of this methane is exhausted via microbial anaerobic methane oxidation. Methane biotransformation in the ocean has effects on global climate change. This review mainly introduces the mechanisms of methanogenesis and methane oxidation and describes new findings that will provide information that will improve the understanding of the balance in terms of the generation, migration and consumption of methane in marine environments. Moreover, this review provides new insights into methane biogeochemical cycles and the effects of marine methane budgets on global climate.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr. Guangchao Zhuang from Georgia University, Dr. Yinzhao Wang, Lei Xu and Lewen Liang from Shanghai Jiao Tong University for providing several helpful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by the State Key R & D Project of China (Grant No. 2016YFA0601102) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41525011, 91228201 & 91428308) and the National Special Project on Gas Hydrate of China (Grant Nos. GZH201100311 & DD20160217). This study is also a contribution to the international IMBER project.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Mingyang Niu, Wenyue Liang & Fengping Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Ocean Engineering, School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Civil Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Mingyang Niu, Wenyue Liang & Fengping Wang

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  1. Mingyang Niu
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  2. Wenyue Liang
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Correspondence to Fengping Wang.

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Niu, M., Liang, W. & Wang, F. Methane biotransformation in the ocean and its effects on climate change: A review. Sci. China Earth Sci. 61, 1697–1713 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9299-4

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