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Li S, Ketzer M, Chang C, Rula I, Seidel L, Svendsen IK, Forsman A, Hylander S, Dopson M
Front Microbiol 16 (-) 1636301 [2025-10-07; online 2025-10-07]
Climate change driven ocean warming is a worldwide environmental issue that can impact cycling of greenhouse gases. However, how methane production in marine sediments as a potential contributor to atmospheric greenhouse gases versus its consumption at the sulfate-methane transition zone will be affected by climate change related warming is still not well constrained. In this study, sediments from two Baltic Sea bays with long-term temperature differences were collected during summer and winter. The primary difference between the two bays was that one had been heated by a nearby power plant for 50 years, resulting in a 5.1 °C increase in annual average temperature compared to an unheated control bay. The results showed that near-seafloor sediment methane concentrations were 50 times higher compared to present-day conditions. Furthermore, the sediment fluxes along with microbial community composition changes suggested that long-term warming may thin the sulfate reduction zone, such that methanotrophic archaea and sulfate reducing bacteria peaked at shallower sediment depths in the heated bay. Overall, the results from long-term warming in natural sediment environment indicated that future climate change warming may increase the risk of methane release to the water and eventually the atmosphere.
NGI Stockholm (Genomics Production) [Service]
National Genomics Infrastructure [Service]
PubMed 41127623
DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1636301
Crossref 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1636301