On the study, Intensive methane seep region on the outer East Siberian Arctic Shelf shows biomarker evidence for aerobic oxidation of methane.

Summary

Researchers examined sediment cores from an active methane seep region on the outer East Siberian Arctic Shelf and found that anaerobic methane oxidation (the traditional methane removal mechanism in seep sediments) was largely absent or inactive in the study area. Instead, the presence of strongly carbon-13-depleted hop-17(21)-ene biomarkers throughout the sediments indicates that aerobic methane oxidation (occurring in the water column and surface sediments) is the dominant process removing methane in this shallow, oxygen-rich system. This finding suggests that aerobic microbial processes play a significant role in regulating methane emissions from Arctic subsea permafrost vents, which has important implications for understanding how much methane from this region actually reaches the atmosphere. Read more.