Abstract
GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES,
VOL. 20,
GB2019,
14 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2004GB002389
Efficiency of the benthic filter: Biological control of the emission of dissolved methane from sediments containing shallow gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge
Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz Messknotennetz Rendsburg, Rendsburg, Germany
Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Meerestechnik I, Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, Hamburg, Germany
Leibniz-Institut für Meereswissenschaften an der Universität Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR), Kiel, Germany
Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Universität Kiel, Kiel, Germany
Meerestechnik Bremen GmbH, Bremen, Germany
In marine sedimentary environments, microbial methanotrophy represents an important sink for methane before it leaves the seafloor and enters the water column. Using benthic observatories in conjunction with numerical modeling of pore water gradients, we investigated seabed methane emission rates at cold seep sites with underlying gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia margin. Measurements were conducted at three characteristic sites which have variable fluid flow and sulfide flux and sustain distinct chemosynthetic communities. In sediments covered with microbial mats of Beggiatoa, seabed methane efflux ranges from 1.9 to 11.5 mmol m−2 d−1. At these sites of relatively high advective flow, total oxygen uptake was very fast, yielding rates of up to 53.4 mmol m−2 d−1. In sediments populated by colonies with clams of the genus Calyptogena and characterized by low advective flow, seabed methane emission was 0.6 mmol m−2 d−1, whereas average total oxygen uptake amounted to only 3.7 mmol m−2 d−1. The efficiency of methane consumption at microbial mat and clam field sites was 66 and 83%, respectively. Our measurements indicate a high potential capacity of aerobic methane oxidation in the benthic boundary layer. This layer potentially restrains seabed methane emission when anaerobic methane oxidation in the sediment becomes saturated or when methane is bypassing the sediment matrix along fractures and channels.
Received 20 October 2004; accepted 3 February 2006; published 20 June 2006.
Citation: (2006), Efficiency of the benthic filter: Biological control of the emission of dissolved methane from sediments containing shallow gas hydrates at Hydrate Ridge, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 20, GB2019, doi:10.1029/2004GB002389.
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