Short-term changes in anaerobic oxidation of methane in response to varying methane and sulfate fluxes

Abstract. A major role in global methane fluxes has been attributed to the process of anaerobic oxidation of methane, which is performed by consortia of methanotrophic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria. An important question remains how these very slow growing microorganisms with generation times of 3–7 months respond to natural variations in methane fluxes at cold seeps. Here, we used an experimental flow-through column system filled with cold seep sediments naturally enriched in methanotrophic communities, to test their response to short-term variations in methane and sulfate fluxes. At stable methane and sulfate concentrations of ~2 mM and 28 mM, respectively, we measured constant rates of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) and sulfide production (SR) for up to 160 days of incubation. When percolated with methane-free medium, the anaerobic methanotrophs ceased to oxidize methane and to produce sulfide. After a starvation phase of 40 days, the addition of methane restored former AOM and SR rates immediately. At methane concentrations between 0–2.3 mM we measured a linear correlation between methane availability, AOM and SR. At constant fluid flow rates of 30 m yr−1, ca. 50% of the methane was consumed by the ANME population at all concentrations tested. Reducing the sulfate concentration from 28 to 1 mM, a decrease in AOM and SR by 35% was observed. Hence, the marine anaerobic methanotrophs (ANME) are capable to consume substantial amounts of methane rising from the subsurface seabed to the hydrosphere over a wide range of fluxes of methane and sulfate.