Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 331, Issue 6015, Pages 312-315Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1199697
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Funding
- NSF [OCE 1042650, OCE 0849246, OCE 1042097, OCE 0961725]
- U.S. Department of Energy [DE-NT0005667]
- NOAA
- Consolidated Safety Services, Incorporated
- Direct For Education and Human Resources
- Division Of Human Resource Development [0929836] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Direct For Education and Human Resources
- Division Of Undergraduate Education [0806926] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Directorate For Geosciences [0961725] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Division Of Ocean Sciences [0961725] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Methane was the most abundant hydrocarbon released during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Beyond relevancy to this anthropogenic event, this methane release simulates a rapid and relatively short-term natural release from hydrates into deep water. Based on methane and oxygen distributions measured at 207 stations throughout the affected region, we find that within similar to 120 days from the onset of release similar to 3.0 x 10(10) to 3.9 x 10(10) moles of oxygen were respired, primarily by methanotrophs, and left behind a residual microbial community containing methanotrophic bacteria. We suggest that a vigorous deepwater bacterial bloom respired nearly all the released methane within this time, and that by analogy, large-scale releases of methane from hydrate in the deep ocean are likely to be met by a similarly rapid methanotrophic response.
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