Seasonal total methane depletion in limestone caves

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dc.contributor.authorWaring, CLen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHankin, SIen_AU
dc.contributor.authorGriffith, DWTen_AU
dc.contributor.authorKertesz, MAen_AU
dc.contributor.authorKobylski, Ven_AU
dc.contributor.authorWilson, NLen_AU
dc.contributor.authorColeman, NVen_AU
dc.contributor.authorKettlewell, Gen_AU
dc.contributor.authorZlot, Ren_AU
dc.contributor.authorBosse, Men_AU
dc.contributor.authorBell, Gen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-19T05:33:20Zen_AU
dc.date.available2022-08-19T05:33:20Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2017-08-16en_AU
dc.date.statistics2022-07-26en_AU
dc.descriptionOpen Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Author correction is attached - article has been updated to reflect the correction.en_AU
dc.description.abstractMethane concentration in caves is commonly much lower than the external atmosphere, yet the cave CH4 depletion causal mechanism is contested and dynamic links to external diurnal and seasonal temperature cycles unknown. Here, we report a continuous 3-year record of cave methane and other trace gases in Jenolan Caves, Australia which shows a seasonal cycle of extreme CH4 depletion, from ambient ~1,775 ppb to near zero during summer and to ~800 ppb in winter. Methanotrophic bacteria, some newly-discovered, rapidly consume methane on cave surfaces and in external karst soils with lifetimes in the cave of a few hours. Extreme bacterial selection due to the absence of alternate carbon sources for growth in the cave environment has resulted in an extremely high proportion 2–12% of methanotrophs in the total bacteria present. Unexpected seasonal bias in our cave CH4 depletion record is explained by a three-step process involving methanotrophy in aerobic karst soil above the cave, summer transport of soil-gas into the cave through epikarst, followed by further cave CH4 depletion. Disentangling cause and effect of cave gas variations by tracing sources and sinks has identified seasonal speleothem growth bias, with implied palaeo-climate record bias. © 2017, The Author(s)en_AU
dc.identifier.citationWaring, C. L., Hankin, S. I., Griffith, D. W. T., Kertesz, M. A., Kobylski, V., Wilson, N. L., Coleman, N. V., Kettlewell, G., Zlot, R., Bosse, M. & Bell, G. (2017). Seasonal total methane depletion in limestone caves. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-12. doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07769-6en_AU
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322en_AU
dc.identifier.issue1en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleScientific reportsen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination1-12en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-07769-6en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/13583en_AU
dc.identifier.volume7en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherSpringer Natureen_AU
dc.subjectSeasonsen_AU
dc.subjectMethaneen_AU
dc.subjectLimestoneen_AU
dc.subjectCavesen_AU
dc.subjectAtmospheric chemistryen_AU
dc.subjectGeochemistryen_AU
dc.subjectBiogeochemistryen_AU
dc.titleSeasonal total methane depletion in limestone cavesen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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