Science Alert  June 18, 2021 As marine methane seeps, vast quantities of methane move through the shallow subseafloor, where it is largely consumed by microbial communities. A team of researchers in the US (Harvard University, DOE, USGS, UCLA, Caltech) conducted a continental-scale survey of seven geologically diverse seafloor seeps and found that carbonate rocks from all sites host methane-oxidizing microbial communities with substantial methanotrophic potential. In laboratory-based mesocosm incubations, chimney-like carbonates from the coast of Southern California exhibited the highest rates of anaerobic methane oxidation measured to date. After a thorough analysis of physicochemical, electrical, and biological factors, they attributed […]