Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Microbial Methane Production In Oxygenated Water Column Of An Oligotrophic Lake, Hans-Peter Grossart, Katharina Frindte, Claudia Dziallas, Werner Eckert, Kam W. Tang

VIMS Articles

The prevailing paradigm in aquatic science is that microbial methanogenesis happens primarily in anoxic environments. Here, we used multiple complementary approaches to show that microbial methane production could and did occur in the well-oxygenated water column of an oligotrophic lake (Lake Stechlin, Germany). Oversaturation of methane was repeatedly recorded in the well-oxygenated upper 10 m of the water column, and the methane maxima coincided with oxygen oversaturation at 6 m. Laboratory incubations of unamended epilimnetic lake water and inoculations of photoautotrophs with a lake-enrichment culture both led to methane production even in the presence of oxygen, and the production was …