This is a study of methane oxidation in marine sediments and in the water column. The PI will focus on samples from the Black Sea Expedition, samples from a forthcoming cruise to Australian coastal waters, and on chemostat experiments in the laboratory using sediments from Scan Bay,, Alaska. Stable carbon and hydrogen isotopes will be measured to provide an estimate of the presence and the extent of anaerobic methane oxidation. The chemostat experiments will lead to an understanding of the substrates and the mechanisms involved in this oxidation process.
