The Journal of Young Investigators: An Undergraduate, Peer-Reviewed Science Journal
Volume 20, Issue 3. September 2010
Methane Filtering of Deep Sea Vent Community Characterized
Researchers studying the Haakon Mosby mud volcano in the Arctic found that it consisted of three distinct regions: the center area (left), which emits mud, water and methane; an inner ring (center) populated by sulfur-consuming bacteria; and an outer ring (right), where favorable environmental conditions allow microorganisms in the soil to feed on methane from the vent. Courtesy of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology.
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23 October 2006 -
Researchers studying an undersea volcano in the Arctic have identified several previously unknown organisms that obtain energy from the methane spewed out by the vent. According to the study published in the current issue of Nature, increased methane emission from the volcano severely reduced the organisms’ ability to process the natural gas.
Researchers lead by Helge Niemann from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Germany discovered bacteria that use oxygen to get energy from methane living around a volcano. Niemann also found a new group of Archaea, microscopic organisms that are often found in extreme environments, which maintain a symbiotic relationship with bacteria. The Archaea use sulfate instead of oxygen to feed on methane, through a process called the anaerobic oxidation of methane.
The Haakon Mosby mud volcano is located below more than three quarters of a mile of water on the continental slope of the Barents Sea, where the water temperature is a frigid 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The center of the volcano, which emits water, mud and methane, is surrounded by a ring of sediment populated by sulfur-processing bacteria, which in turn is surrounded by a ring of tubeworms.
Unexpectedly, despite the proximity of methane-consuming organisms to the center of the volcano, the researchers found that most methane breakdown occurs in the outer tubeworm circle. In addition, only 40% of the methane put out by the volcano was used by the organisms, a much lower processing efficiency than is normally found in such extreme environments. This contradicts prior expectations that greater amounts of methane would stimulate larger numbers of organisms that fed on the gas.
“The methane-consuming microorganisms need oxygen or sulfate from the seawater to oxidize methane,” explained Niemann. “In the mud volcano water that flows upwards through the ocean floor both compounds are missing.”
Since the volcano puts out such large amounts of effluent, it effectively prevents ocean water from carrying these needed compounds to the organisms living near the center of the volcano.
In contrast, further from the volcano, tubeworms create a more amenable environment for processing methane. The worms are anchored up to 60 cm deep in the ocean floor, and they actively pump water into the sediments, providing microorganisms with necessary elements for methane degradation.
This understanding of the functioning of a so-called methane filter is particularly important in light of methane’s role in global warming, as it is a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. In addition continuing work on the Haakon Mosby ecosystem, researchers plan to investigate methane seeps recently located in the eastern Mediterranean.
Researchers lead by Helge Niemann from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Germany discovered bacteria that use oxygen to get energy from methane living around a volcano. Niemann also found a new group of Archaea, microscopic organisms that are often found in extreme environments, which maintain a symbiotic relationship with bacteria. The Archaea use sulfate instead of oxygen to feed on methane, through a process called the anaerobic oxidation of methane.
The Haakon Mosby mud volcano is located below more than three quarters of a mile of water on the continental slope of the Barents Sea, where the water temperature is a frigid 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The center of the volcano, which emits water, mud and methane, is surrounded by a ring of sediment populated by sulfur-processing bacteria, which in turn is surrounded by a ring of tubeworms.
Unexpectedly, despite the proximity of methane-consuming organisms to the center of the volcano, the researchers found that most methane breakdown occurs in the outer tubeworm circle. In addition, only 40% of the methane put out by the volcano was used by the organisms, a much lower processing efficiency than is normally found in such extreme environments. This contradicts prior expectations that greater amounts of methane would stimulate larger numbers of organisms that fed on the gas.
“The methane-consuming microorganisms need oxygen or sulfate from the seawater to oxidize methane,” explained Niemann. “In the mud volcano water that flows upwards through the ocean floor both compounds are missing.”
Since the volcano puts out such large amounts of effluent, it effectively prevents ocean water from carrying these needed compounds to the organisms living near the center of the volcano.
In contrast, further from the volcano, tubeworms create a more amenable environment for processing methane. The worms are anchored up to 60 cm deep in the ocean floor, and they actively pump water into the sediments, providing microorganisms with necessary elements for methane degradation.
This understanding of the functioning of a so-called methane filter is particularly important in light of methane’s role in global warming, as it is a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. In addition continuing work on the Haakon Mosby ecosystem, researchers plan to investigate methane seeps recently located in the eastern Mediterranean.
Journal of Young
Investigators. 2008. Volume 0.
Copyright © 2008 by Emma Wear and and JYI. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2008 by Emma Wear and and JYI. All rights reserved.