Evidence of Sulfate-Dependent Anaerobic Methane Oxidation within an Area Impacted by Coalbed Methane-Related Gas Migration.

ABSTRACT: We evaluated water quality characteristics in the northern Raton Basin of Colorado and documented the response of the Poison Canyon aquifer system several years after upward migration of methane gas occurred from the deeper Vermejo Formation coalbed production zone. Results show persistent secondary water quality impacts related to the biodegradation of methane. We identify four distinct characteristics of groundwater-methane attenuation in the Poison Canyon aquifer: (i) consumption of methane and sulfate and production of sulfide and bicarbonate, (ii) methane loss coupled to production of higher molecular weight (C₂₊) gaseous hydrocarbons, (iii) patterns of ¹³C enrichment and depletion in methane and dissolved inorganic carbon, and (iv) a systematic shift in sulfur a

SUBMITTER: Wolfe AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7392614 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature