Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Steinle, Lea, Graves, Carolyn, Treude, Tina, Ferre, Benedicte, Biastoch, Arne, Bussmann, Ingeborg, Berndt, Christian, Krastel, Sebastian, James, Rachael H, Behrens, Erik, Böning, Claus W, Greinert, Jens, Sapart, Célia-Julia, Scheinert, Markus, Sommer, Stefan, Lehmann, Moritz F, Niemann, Helge
Format: Dataset Open Access
Language:en
Published: PANGAEA 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.844013
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867170467943546880
author Steinle, Lea
Graves, Carolyn
Treude, Tina
Ferre, Benedicte
Biastoch, Arne
Bussmann, Ingeborg
Berndt, Christian
Krastel, Sebastian
James, Rachael H
Behrens, Erik
Böning, Claus W
Greinert, Jens
Sapart, Célia-Julia
Scheinert, Markus
Sommer, Stefan
Lehmann, Moritz F
Niemann, Helge
author_facet Steinle, Lea
Graves, Carolyn
Treude, Tina
Ferre, Benedicte
Biastoch, Arne
Bussmann, Ingeborg
Berndt, Christian
Krastel, Sebastian
James, Rachael H
Behrens, Erik
Böning, Claus W
Greinert, Jens
Sapart, Célia-Julia
Scheinert, Markus
Sommer, Stefan
Lehmann, Moritz F
Niemann, Helge
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents Large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane are released from the seabed to the water column where it may be consumed by aerobic methanotrophic bacteria. This microbial filter is consequently the last marine sink for methane before its liberation to the atmosphere. The size and activity of methanotrophic communities, which determine the capacity of the water column methane filter, are thought to be mainly controlled by nutrient and redox dynamics, but little is known about the effects of ocean currents. Here, we report measurements of methanotrophic activity and biomass (CARD-FISH) at methane seeps west of Svalbard, and related them to physical water mass properties (CTD) and modelled current dynamics. We show that cold bottom water containing a large number of aerobic methanotrophs was rapidly displaced by warmer water with a considerably smaller methanotrophic community. This water mass exchange, caused by short-term variations of the West Spitsbergen Current, constitutes a rapid oceanographic switch severely reducing methanotrophic activity in the water column. Strong and fluctuating currents are widespread oceanographic features common at many methane seep systems and are thus likely to globally affect methane oxidation in the ocean water column.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_844013
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2015
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Temperature, salinity, methane concentration, oxidation rates and methanotrophic cell number at Svalbard seeps in summer 2011 and 2012 (cruises POS419 and MSM21/4)
Steinle, Lea
Graves, Carolyn
Treude, Tina
Ferre, Benedicte
Biastoch, Arne
Bussmann, Ingeborg
Berndt, Christian
Krastel, Sebastian
James, Rachael H
Behrens, Erik
Böning, Claus W
Greinert, Jens
Sapart, Célia-Julia
Scheinert, Markus
Sommer, Stefan
Lehmann, Moritz F
Niemann, Helge

Large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane are released from the seabed to the water column where it may be consumed by aerobic methanotrophic bacteria. This microbial filter is consequently the last marine sink for methane before its liberation to the atmosphere. The size and activity of methanotrophic communities, which determine the capacity of the water column methane filter, are thought to be mainly controlled by nutrient and redox dynamics, but little is known about the effects of ocean currents. Here, we report measurements of methanotrophic activity and biomass (CARD-FISH) at methane seeps west of Svalbard, and related them to physical water mass properties (CTD) and modelled current dynamics. We show that cold bottom water containing a large number of aerobic methanotrophs was rapidly displaced by warmer water with a considerably smaller methanotrophic community. This water mass exchange, caused by short-term variations of the West Spitsbergen Current, constitutes a rapid oceanographic switch severely reducing methanotrophic activity in the water column. Strong and fluctuating currents are widespread oceanographic features common at many methane seep systems and are thus likely to globally affect methane oxidation in the ocean water column.
title Temperature, salinity, methane concentration, oxidation rates and methanotrophic cell number at Svalbard seeps in summer 2011 and 2012 (cruises POS419 and MSM21/4)
topic
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.844013