How Will Increases In Ocean Temperatures Affect Methane-Eating Archaea

What We Can't Sea

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As ocean temperatures continue to rise, what effect will this have on methane-eating archaea? This episode explores how these increases could potentially impact the populations of these microorganisms.

Increases in methane released from the Arctic seafloor may be a troubling consequence of rapid Arctic warming. For years, scientists have expressed concern that increases in ocean temperatures may destabilize gas hydrates, or white crystalline solids composed of water and methane (a potent greenhouse gas), present in Arctic marine sediments. Arctic gas hydrates have remained stable due to the high-pressure, low-temperature environment of the deep sea. However, changes in water temperatures as the climate warms could destabilize methane deposits and result in an increase in methane release into the water column.