idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
A team from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and the University of Jena has shown in a recent study that microorganisms deplete more than half of the methane contained in groundwater before it can escape.
[Joint press release for MPI-BGC and the University of Jena]
Groundwater commonly contains methane, but the amount of this important greenhouse gas that can escape to surface waters or the atmosphere is highly uncertain. A team from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and University of Jena has shown that microbes in groundwater significantly reduce methane emissions, as revealed in a new study published in PNAS. The researchers used a highly sensitive radiocarbon tracer method to demonstrate that microbes consume more than half of the groundwater methane before it can be released. This microbial methane ‘filter’ limits the contribution of groundwater to inland freshwaters and wetlands, the largest natural source of methane to the atmosphere.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and its heat-trapping ability makes it far more dangerous than carbon dioxide in the near term—around 84 times stronger over 20 years—making rapid reductions in methane emissions one of the fastest ways to slow global warming. Groundwater often contains methane from microbial or fossil sources. At high concentrations, this gas can affect drinking water quality and escape to soils, surface waters, or the atmosphere. Microbial oxidation is the only known biological methane sink. However, groundwater contributions to global methane budgets are highly uncertain.
Using a newly refined radiocarbon tracer technique, Beatrix M. Heinze, Valérie F. Schwab, Kirsten Küsel and Susan Trumbore - from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and the University of Jena- measured microbial methane consumption in groundwaters with different lithologies and methane concentrations in collaboration with Stefan Schloemer and Andreas Roskam from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and the State Agency for Water Management, Coastal and Nature Conservation. “Our results reveal a highly active microbial methane filter in groundwater that plays a crucial role in limiting the release of methane to surface waters, soils, and the atmosphere," says doctoral researcher Beatrix M. Heinze.
Methane removal depends on methane concentration
The team sampled groundwater from shallow carbonate and sandy aquifers in central and northern Germany with methane concentration that ranged over five orders of magnitude, from barely detectable to supersaturated. Rates of microbial methane oxidation ranged similarly over five orders of magnitude and were highly correlated with groundwater methane concentrations. "Our method not only allowed us to quantify microbial methane oxidation, but also to determine how much of the methane microbes used to produce biomass," Heinze explains. “We found that groundwater microbes primarily use methane to generate energy rather than build biomass”.
To develop and refine these methods, Heinze conducted a research stay at the University of California, Irvine, supported by the Scientific Exchange Funds of the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse”. These visits enabled her to learn and apply advanced radiocarbon-based techniques for analyzing microbial methane oxidation in groundwater.
Methane turnover, the time required for microbes to fully consume the available methane, ranged from just a few days to several decades, depending on concentration. “While at many sites, we expect methane to be completely consumed by the groundwater microbes, some sites in northern Germany with the highest methane concentration may be a significant source of methane to wetlands or rivers, from where it can be emitted to the atmosphere,” says Susan Trumbore, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena. “Our study highlights the considerable uncertainty about the role of freshwaters as natural methane sources and the importance of establishing robust baselines for future assessments.”
Microbes remove more than half of groundwater methane globally
Given the strength of the relationship between methane oxidation rates and methane concentrations, the authors collected published data on groundwater methane concentrations across the globe. By extrapolating their observed relationship between methane concentration and microbial oxidation, they estimate that methane-oxidizing microbes remove between 167 and 778 teragrams of methane annually—equivalent to roughly two-thirds of the methane produced in groundwater worldwide. For perspective, current estimates suggest that inland waters and wetlands emit between 164 and 329 teragrams of methane per year.
In addition to its climate impact, methane at high concentrations poses risks to groundwater quality. “Our method can help identify potential risks even in aquifers considered clean and safe for future use,” says Kirsten Küsel, head of the Cluster of Excellence “Balance of the Microverse” at the University of Jena. “These findings underscore the urgent need for sustainable groundwater management to protect both climate and drinking water resources.”
The study was conducted within the framework of the Collaborative Research Center AquaDiva, led by Kirsten Küsel, Susan Trumbore, and Kai Totsche, an interdisciplinary initiative focusing on understanding the interactions between surface and subsurface ecosystems and their response to environmental changes. By integrating expertise from biogeochemistry, hydrogeology, and microbiology, AquaDiva aims to uncover the complex processes that govern groundwater ecosystems and their resilience to climate change.
Susan E. Trumbore, Prof. Ph.D.
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry
Hans-Knöll-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
Phone: +49 3641 57-6110
Email: trumbore@bgc-jena.mpg.de
Kirsten Küsel, Univ.-Prof. Dr
Cluster of Excellence "Balance of the Microverse", University of Jena
Dornburger Straße 159, 07743 Jena, Germany
Phone: +49 3641 9-49461
Email: kirsten.kuesel@uni-jena.de
Heinze, Beatrix M. et al. Microbial oxidation significantly reduces methane export from global groundwaters, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2025, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2508773122
Prof Susan Trumbore (front), Dr Valérie Schwab (back) and Beatrix Heinze (left) taking groundwater s ...
Copyright: Falko Gutmann
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Wissenschaftler
Biologie, Geowissenschaften, Umwelt / Ökologie
überregional
Forschungsergebnisse, Wissenschaftliche Publikationen
Englisch
Prof Susan Trumbore (front), Dr Valérie Schwab (back) and Beatrix Heinze (left) taking groundwater s ...
Copyright: Falko Gutmann
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
