Microbial oxidation significantly reduces methane export from global groundwaters.

ABSTRACT: Methane is ubiquitous in groundwater, and its release to surface environments through pumping, discharge, or diffusion is an emerging environmental concern. Microbial oxidation consumes methane and mitigates its release, but quantitative constraints in groundwater remain unknown. Using ultra-low-level ¹⁴C-labeling, we estimate in situ microbial methane oxidation rates in shallow carbonate and sandy aquifers from central and northern Germany with methane concentrations spanning 5 orders of magnitude, from 0.15 ± 0.04 to 36,250 ± 1,390 µg L^-1. Oxidation rates ranged from 0.001 ± 0.0003 to 74.28 ± 46.94 µgC L^-1 d^-1 and were highly correlated with groundwater methane concentrations. Oxidation-based methane turnover was rapid at low methane concentrat

SUBMITTER: Heinze BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12557531 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature