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Title: An active atmospheric methane sink in high Arctic mineral cryosols

Journal Article · · The ISME Journal
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [1];  [6];  [3];  [6];  [5];  [1];  [2];  [6];  [1]
  1. Princeton Univ., Princeton, NJ (United States)
  2. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  3. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada); Laurentian Univ., Ontario (Canada)
  5. Univ. of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX (United States)
  6. McGill Univ., Montreal, QC (Canada)

The transition of Arctic carbon-rich cryosols into methane (CH₄)-emitting wetlands due to global warming is a rising concern. However, the spatially predominant mineral cryosols and their CH₄ emission potential are poorly understood. Fluxes measured in situ and estimated under laboratory conditions coupled with -omics analysis indicate (1) mineral cryosols in the Canadian high Arctic contain atmospheric CH₄-oxidizing bacteria; (2) the atmospheric CH⁺ uptake flux increases with ground temperature; and, as a result, (3) the atmospheric CH₄ sink strength will increase by a factor of 5-30 as the Arctic warms by 5-15 °C over a century. We demonstrated that acidic mineral cryosols have previously unrecognized potential of negative CH₄ feedback.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1213309
Journal Information:
The ISME Journal, Vol. 9, Issue 8; ISSN 1751-7362
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 64 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (25)

Microbial ecology of the cryosphere (glacial and permafrost habitats): current knowledge journal February 2019
Recent climatic changes and wetland expansion turned Tibet into a net CH4 source journal September 2017
Tundra soil carbon is vulnerable to rapid microbial decomposition under climate warming journal February 2016
Methanotrophy across a natural permafrost thaw environment journal June 2018
Landscape topography structures the soil microbiome in arctic polygonal tundra journal February 2018
Reduced net methane emissions due to microbial methane oxidation in a warmer Arctic journal March 2020
Archaeal communities of Arctic methane-containing permafrost journal June 2016
Denitrifiers, nitrogen-fixing bacteria and N2O soil gas flux in high Arctic ice-wedge polygon cryosols journal April 2019
Diversity and composition of cave methanotrophic communities journal June 2022
Species interactions and distinct microbial communities in high Arctic permafrost affected cryosols are associated with the CH 4 and CO 2 gas fluxes journal July 2019
Atmospheric CH 4 oxidation by Arctic permafrost and mineral cryosols as a function of water saturation and temperature journal July 2016
Methane oxidation in contrasting soil types: responses to experimental warming with implication for landscape-integrated CH 4 budget journal July 2016
Ecosystem carbon response of an Arctic peatland to simulated permafrost thaw journal February 2019
Metagenome-Assembled Genome of USCα AHI, a Potential High-Affinity Methanotroph from Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian High Arctic journal November 2019
Paleolimnology of thermokarst lakes: a window into permafrost landscape evolution journal June 2017
Distinct Taxonomic and Functional Profiles of the Microbiome Associated With Different Soil Horizons of a Moist Tussock Tundra in Alaska journal June 2019
Metagenomic analyses of the late Pleistocene permafrost – additional tools for reconstruction of environmental conditions journal January 2016
Interpreting eddy covariance data from heterogeneous Siberian tundra: land-cover-specific methane fluxes and spatial representativeness journal January 2019
Consumption of atmospheric methane by the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau alpine steppe ecosystem journal January 2018
Draft Genome Sequence of Uncultured Upland Soil Cluster Gammaproteobacteria Gives Molecular Insights into High-Affinity Methanotrophy journal April 2017
Microbial and Biogeochemical Dynamics in Glacier Forefields Are Sensitive to Century-Scale Climate and Anthropogenic Change journal April 2017
In Situ Field Sequencing and Life Detection in Remote (79°26′N) Canadian High Arctic Permafrost Ice Wedge Microbial Communities journal December 2017
Taxonomic and Functional Compositions Impacted by the Quality of Metatranscriptomic Assemblies journal June 2018
Culture-Dependent Bioprospecting of Bacterial Isolates From the Canadian High Arctic Displaying Antibacterial Activity journal August 2019
Paleo-Rock-Hosted Life on Earth and the Search on Mars: a Review and Strategy for Exploration text January 2018