COSEE Ocean Systems: News
Methane dynamics regulated by microbial community response to permafrost thaw
Description: Here scientists 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. They 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. [Source: Nature]
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature13798
Availability: Summary
Source: Nature
Publish Date: 10/23/2014
Reading Level: Expert
Page Length:  

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