Methane Oxidation II

The goal of this project is to first identify and then quantify the variables exerting the most influence on the kinetics of aerobic methane oxidation (MOx). This will be accomplished through systemic investigations of MOx in the laboratory and in the field (Great Lakes and US Atlantic Margin) and how it is influenced by changes in physical and chemical variables. While rates of MOx are measured relatively routinely by several research groups with this analytical expertise, the inter-laboratory comparability of results remains poor. This largely prohibits the integration and upscaling of these measurements for the regional and global quantification of the magnitude of this CH4 sink. Despite this considerable shortcoming, local studies have proven extremely valuable at displaying the variable potential for MOx to be a microbial biofilter with the ability to diminish oceanic emissions of this greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. The results of the investigations proposed here will lead to a fundamental understanding of the dominant physical and chemical controls on MOx kinetics, enabling protocols to be developed for greater inter-laboratory comparability of future measurements of MOx. In addition, the fundamental understanding uncovered here will aid in the regional and global extrapolation of MOx rates so that the influences exerted on seawater chemistry and atmospheric greenhouse gas budgets can be more precisely constrained.