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Protocols for Radiotracer Estimation of Methane Oxidation Rates at In Situ Methane Concentrations in Marine Sediments

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Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols

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Abstract

The microbial consumption of methane acts as a biofilter in deep marine environments, significantly limiting the flux of methane from ocean to atmosphere. Measurements of both anaerobic and aerobic oxidation of methane are necessary to constrain net carbon flux from deeply buried sediments to the overlying water column. Precise methods for quantifying methane oxidation (MOx) rates are crucial to these efforts. Most protocols describe conducting incubations at 1 atm pressure, limiting methane concentrations to seawater saturation values (~1.2 mM CH4). Deep sediment porewaters are often supersaturated with methane relative to atmospheric pressure, which introduces potentially significant error into MOx rate measurements. Here, we present a detailed method for determining rates of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) at in situ pressure and methane concentration for sediments and deep waters. By conducting MOx rate assays at in situ pressure and realistic environmental methane concentrations, methane dynamics can be constrained with greater accuracy.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Room 220, Marine Sciences Building, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Ryan Sibert, Vladimir A. Samarkin & Samantha B. Joye

Authors
  1. Ryan Sibert
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  2. Vladimir A. Samarkin
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  3. Samantha B. Joye
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samantha B. Joye .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Essex, School of Biological Sciences University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, United Kingdom

    Terry J. McGenity

  2. Institute of Microbiology, Technical University Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis

  3. Department of Biology, University of the Balearic Islands and Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, UIB-CSIC), Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Balbina Nogales

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© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Sibert, R., Samarkin, V.A., Joye, S.B. (2016). Protocols for Radiotracer Estimation of Methane Oxidation Rates at In Situ Methane Concentrations in Marine Sediments. In: McGenity, T., Timmis, K., Nogales , B. (eds) Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology Protocols. Springer Protocols Handbooks. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2016_229

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/8623_2016_229

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-662-53116-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-53118-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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