Jeffrey P. Chanton

Methane bubbling from Siberian thaw lakes as a positive feedback to climate warming.

Large uncertainties in the budget of atmospheric methane, an important greenhouse gas, limit the accuracy of climate change projections. Thaw lakes in North Siberia are known to emit methane, but the magnitude of these emissions remains uncertain because most methane is released through ebullition (bubbling), which is spatially and temporally variable. Here we report a new method of measuring ebullition and use it to quantify methane emissions from two thaw lakes in North Siberia. We show that ebullition accounts for 95 per cent of methane emissions from these lakes, and that methane flux from thaw lakes in our study region may be five times higher than previously estimated. Extrapolation of these fluxes indicates that thaw lakes in North Siberia emit 3.8 teragrams of methane per year, which increases present estimates of methane emissions from northern wetlands (< 6–40 teragrams per year; refs 1, 2, 4–6) by between 10 and 63 per cent. We find that thawing permafrost along lake margins accounts for most of the methane released from the lakes, and estimate that an expansion of thaw lakes between 1974 and 2000, which was concurrent with regional warming, increased methane emissions in our study region by 58 per cent. Furthermore, the Pleistocene age (35,260–42,900 years) of methane emitted from hotspots along thawing lake margins indicates that this positive feedback to climate warming has led to the release of old carbon stocks previously stored in permafrost.

Estimating groundwater discharge into the northeastern Gulf of Mexico using radon-222

Abstract Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) may provide important chemical constituents to the ocean, but the dispersed nature of this process makes locating and quantifying its input extremely difficult. Since groundwater contains 3–4 orders of magnitude greater radon than seawater, 222Rn may be a useful tracer of this process if all other sources of radon to bottom waters can be evaluated. We report development of a SGD tracing tool based on radon inventories in a coastal area of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. We evaluated factors that influence the concentration of radon in the water column (i.e., production-decay, horizontal transport, and loss across the pycnocline) using a linked benthic exchange-horizontal transport model. Total 222Rn benthic fluxes (≥2420 dpm m−2 day−1) measured with in situ chambers are of the magnitude required to support measured sub-pycnocline 222Rn inventories, while estimates of molecular diffusion show that this input is relatively small (≤230 dpm m−2 day−1). Using this model approach, together with measurements of the radon inventory, we estimated a regional subsurface fluid flow ranging from 180 to 710 m3 sec−1 into the 620 km2 study area. This discharge, equivalent to an upward advective velocity of approximately 2–10 cm day−1 dispersed over this entire study area, is equivalent to approximately 20 first magnitude springs.

Greenhouse carbon balance of wetlands: methane emission versus carbon sequestration

Carbon fixation under wetland anaerobic soil conditions provides unique conditions for long-term storage of carbon into histosols. However, this carbon sequestration process is intimately linked to methane emission from wetlands. The potential contribution of this emitted methane to the greenhouse effect can be mitigated by the removal of atmospheric CO2 and storage into peat. The balance of CH4 and CO2 exchange can provide an index of a wetland’s greenhouse gas (carbon) contribution to the atmosphere. Here, we relate the atmospheric global warming potential of methane (GWPM) with annual methane emission/carbon dioxide exchange ratio of wetlands ranging from the boreal zone to the near-subtropics. This relationship permits one to determine the greenhouse carbon balance of wetlands by their contribution to or attenuation of the greenhouse effect via CH4 emission or CO2 sink, respectively. We report annual measurements of the relationship between methane emission and net carbon fixation in three wetland ecosystems. The ratio of methane released to annual net carbon fixed varies from 0.05 to 0.20 on a molar basis. Although these wetlands function as a sink for CO2, the 21.8-fold greater infrared absorptivity of CH4 relative to CO2(GWPM) over a relatively short time horizon (20 years) would indicate that the release of methane still contributes to the overall greenhouse effect. As GWPM decreases over longer time horizons (100 years), our analyses suggest that the subtropical and temperate wetlands attenuate global warming, and northern wetlands may be perched on the “greenhouse compensation” point. Considering a 500-year time horizon, these wetlands can be regarded as sinks for greenhouse gas warming potential, and thus attenuate the greenhouse warming of the atmosphere.

Plant-dependent CH4 emission in a subarctic Canadian fen

The importance of vegetation in affecting CH4 emissions was investigated in a Carex-dominated fen located near Schefferville, Quebec, and in the Experimental Lakes Area, Ontario. Comparison of emission rates with and without the presence of aboveground vegetation indicated that over 90% of the emission was plant-associated transport. Further evidence of this association was found in a linear correlation of CH4 emission with aboveground plant biomass (R=0.93). To test the importance of aboveground plant photosynthetic production on methane production, aboveground vegetation was clipped from sites continually over the growing season. Both emissions and dissolved pore water CH4 were reduced relative to adjacent vegetated areas. A significant correlation (R=0.93) of CH4 emissions with net CO2 exchange in this fen gives evidence of the close association between new plant production and methanogenesis.

Indicators of methane-derived carbonates and chemosynthetic organic carbon deposits: examples from the Florida Escarpment

Abyssal chemosynthetic communities are supported by bacterial oxidation of reduced chemicals in brines which seep out through sediments at the base of the Florida Escarpment. They are surrounded by carbonate hardgrounds and sediments rich in fresh organic carbon that contain a record of the metabolic pathways and geochemical processes which are active at these sites. The isotopic composition of tissue samples (δ 13 C as low as #7576.40∓), carbonate crusts (δ 13 C as low #7545.19∓) and sedimentary organic matter (δ 13 C as low #7567.87∓) indicate that biogenic methane dissolved in the brines (δ 13 C #7583.3 ± 5.8∓) is a major carbon source for many of the locally synthesized compounds

Radiocarbon and stable carbon isotopic evidence for transport and transformation of dissolved organic carbon, dissolved inorganic carbon, and CH4 in a northern Minnesota peatland.

To elucidate the roles of hydrology and vegetation in below ground carbon cycling within peatlands, radiocarbon values were obtained for pore water dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), CH4, and peat from the Glacial Lake Agassiz peatland. The major implication of this work is that the rate of microbial respiration within a peat column is greater than the peat decomposition rate. The radiocarbon content of DOC at both bog and fen was enriched relative to solid-phase peat by ∼150-300‰ consistent with the advection of recently photosynthesized DOC downward into the peat column. Fen Δ14C values for DIC and CH4 closely track the Δ14C of pore water DOC at depth, indicating that this recent plant production was the predominant substrate for microbial respiration. Aceticlastic methanogenesis apparently dominated the upper third of the peat column (α = 1.05), shifting toward CO2 reduction with depth (1.05 < α < 1.08). Upwelling groundwater contributed as much as 15% of the DIC to the bulk DIC pool at depth in the fen. The similarity of Δ14C values for DIC and CH4 suggests that methanogens utilized DIC from this source as well as DIC produced in situ. Bog Δ14C values for pore water DIC and CH4 differ by ≤ 15‰ at all depths and are depleted in 14C relative to DOC by ∼100‰, suggesting microbial utilization of a mixture of older and modern substrates. CO2 reduction was the primary pathway for methanogenesis at all depths in the bog (α = 1.08), and groundwater influence on bulk DIC was negligible. For both sites, Δ14C−DIC and Δ14C−CH4 are approximately equal at depths where stable isotope data indicate a predominance of CO2 reduction and dissimilar when acetate fermentation is indicated.

Seasonal variation in methane oxidation in a landfill cover soil as determined by an in situ stable isotope technique

Seasonal variations in the oxidation of methane during its transport across the soil cap of a landfill in Leon County, Florida, were determined in situ with a stable isotopic technique. The approach contrasted the δ13C values of emitted and anoxic zone CH4 and utilized measurements of the isotopic fractionation factor α, which varied inversely with temperature from 1.025 to 1.049. Anoxic zone CH4 did not vary seasonally and had a δ13C average value of −55.18 ± 0.15‰. Methane emitted from the landfill soil surface and captured in chambers ranged in δ13C from −54‰ in winter, when emission rates were high, to −40‰ in summer, when emission rates were lower. The antipathetic variation between the δ13C of emitted CH4 and the rate of CH4 emission is consistent with control of the emission rate by bacterial oxidation. Our interpretation of the isotope data indicates that methane oxidation consumed from 3 to 5% of the total flux in winter to a maximum of 43 ± 10% in summer. There was variation in the extent of methane oxidation in soil types, with mulch/topsoil averaging 55 ± 14% and clay averaging 33 ± 13% in summer. The seasonally integrated value for methane oxidation for areas of the landfill covered with mulch/topsoil was 26 ± 4% of the flux toward the soil surface, while for clay soil it was only 14 ± 2%. The overall annual average, which includes both types of soil, was 20 ± 3%. Covering landfills with additional mulch, which can be generated from yard waste, may attenuate methane emission by providing a loose noncompact substrate for bacterial attachment and an environment with moisture, methane, and oxygen. At specific sites within the landfill we studied, temperature was the main factor controlling methane oxidation.

Contrasting rates and diurnal patterns of methane emission from emergent aquatic macrophytes

Rates of methane emission associated with Florida Typha domingensis Pers. and Typha latifolia L. peaked in the early daylight hours and were two to four times higher than the relatively constant rates observed in the afternoon and night. Factors associated with methane emission peaks were increasing solar illumination which drives pressurized bulk flow ventilation in T. domingensis and T. latifolia, opening of stomata, and decreasing concentrations of methane within plant stems. Cladium jamaicense Crantz, which employs diffusive gas exchange, did not exhibit diurnal variations in methane emission rates although stomatal conductance varied diurnally. Within the Florida Everglades methane emission rates were higher in T. domingensis areas (143±19 mg CH4 m−2 day−1) than in C. jamaicense areas (45±15 mg CH4 m−2 day−1). These elevated rates were related to the higher above ground biomass and production in T. domingensis areas relative to C. jamaicense, which suggests that quantitative differences in plant biomass and production rather than qualitative differences between these plant species may control methane emissions. Methane emission was 2.7±1.4% of net daily ecosystem production (NEP) in a T. domingensis area and 14±5.8% and 3.4±4.2% of NEP in two C. jamaicense areas.

Methane emission from rice: Stable isotopes, diurnal variations, and CO2 exchange

The importance of vegetation in supporting methane production and emission within flooded rice fields was demonstrated. Methane emission from Lousiana, United States, rice fields was correlated to the quantity of live aboveground biomass and the rate of CO2 exchange. The quantity of belowground methane was greater in vegetated plots relative to plots maintained free of vegetation. The diurnal maximum in the rate of methane emission was coincident with the release of the most 13C-enriched methane and a maximum in transpiration rate rather than stomatal conductance, suggesting that diurnal variations in methane emission rate are linked with transpiration, in addition to temperature. Results of isotopic measurements of belowground, lacunal, and emitted methane indicate that methane is transported from rice predominantly via molecular diffusion with a small component due to transpiration-induced bulk flow. Samples of methane collected from air-filled internal spaces within the rice culm were 13C-enriched (−53.1 ± 0.3‰) relative to emitted (−64.5 ± 1.0‰) and belowground methane (−59 ± 1.0‰) . Reproduction of these observed 13C values with a numerical model required isotopic fractionation effects associated with transport of methane into and from rice plants. The model could not conclusively confirm rhizospheric methane oxidation. However, 13C-enriched methane was observed in the floodwater overlying the flooded soil (−44.4 ± 2.2‰), consistent with the oxidation of substantial quantities of methane as it diffused across the soil-water interface.

Methane dynamics regulated by microbial community response to permafrost thaw

Permafrost contains about 50% of the global soil carbon. It is thought that the thawing of permafrost can lead to a loss of soil carbon in the form of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The magnitude of the resulting positive climate feedback of such greenhouse gas emissions is still unknown and may to a large extent depend on the poorly understood role of microbial community composition in regulating the metabolic processes that drive such ecosystem-scale greenhouse gas fluxes. Here we show that changes in vegetation and increasing methane emissions with permafrost thaw are associated with a switch from hydrogenotrophic to partly acetoclastic methanogenesis, resulting in a large shift in the δ13C signature (10–15‰) of emitted methane. We used a natural landscape gradient of permafrost thaw in northern Sweden as a model to investigate the role of microbial communities in regulating methane cycling, and to test whether a knowledge of community dynamics could improve predictions of carbon emissions under loss of permafrost. Abundance of the methanogen Candidatus ‘Methanoflorens stordalenmirensis’ is a key predictor of the shifts in methane isotopes, which in turn predicts the proportions of carbon emitted as methane and as carbon dioxide, an important factor for simulating the climate feedback associated with permafrost thaw in global models. By showing that the abundance of key microbial lineages can be used to predict atmospherically relevant patterns in methane isotopes and the proportion of carbon metabolized to methane during permafrost thaw, we establish a basis for scaling changing microbial communities to ecosystem isotope dynamics. Our findings indicate that microbial ecology may be important in ecosystem-scale responses to global change.