Scientists in a recent breakthrough have discovered a methane switch hidden in the Arctic Ocean that is responsible for driving fast global warming.
Besides CO2, methane is responsible for trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. Earlier scientists were clueless about how the methane cycle will respond as Earth continues to warm due to global warming.
In a new study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers tried to assess methane cycling in Earth’s past for clues about future.
The team analyzed the period of ocean acidification and rapid global warming during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) that occurred 56 million years ago.
Previously, it was observed that the PTEM was associated with the widespread release of CO2 and CH4 into the atmosphere and oceans. But scientists failed to understand the origin of these gases.
In the study, researchers analyzed a 50-foot core of marine sediments from the central Arctic Ocean, drilled by the integrated Ocean Drilling Program’s Arctic Coring Expedition.
The team extracted organic molecules from the sediments to identify the microbes living on the seafloor and also measured different carbon isotopes.
By tracking these light-isotope biomarkers in the core samples, the team discovered that the dominant methane-eating microbes in the Arctic Ocean shifted during the PETM.
This change in the microbial community provides insight into how the carbon cycle operated during this ancient warming event.