Microbial Reefs in the Black Sea Fueled by Anaerobic Oxidation of Methane
Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: Massive microbial mats covering up to 4-meter-high carbonate buildups prosper at methane seeps in anoxic waters of the northwestern Black Sea shelf. Strong 13C depletions indicate an incorporation of methane carbon into carbonates, bulk biomass, and specific lipids. The mats mainly consist of densely aggregated archaea (phylogenetic ANME-1 cluster) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfosarcina/Desulfococcus group). If incubated in vitro, these mats perform anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to sulfate reduction. Obviously, anaerobic microbial consortia can generate both carbonate precipitation and substantial biomass accumulation, which has implications for our understanding of carbon cycling during earlier periods of Earth's history.
Source: Science
Institutions: Universität Hamburg, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Constructor University, University of Göttingen, Russian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2118598909