Methane oxidation at the water-ice interface of an ice-covered lake

Abstract

Lakes are important components of the global methane (CH4) cycle. In seasonally ice-covered lakes, CH4 transported by ebullition (bubbling) from anoxic sediments gets trapped at the water-ice interface. If not oxidized by methane-oxidizing bacteria (MOB), this can potentially lead to high episodic CH4 emissions at ice-melt. To understand the fate of CH4 trapped below ice, we measured depth-distributions of CH4 concentrations in the water column near bubbles trapped below ice in Lake Erken. We also performed a 21 d incubation experiment at low temperature (2.3 ± 0.2°C) to investigate the potential for CH4 oxidation. During most sampling occasions, we found steep CH4 concentration gradients just below the ice with a 13-fold decrease from the surface to a depth of 20 cm. In vitro incubations revealed that CH4 oxidation can occur at low temperatures typical for the water-ice interface. CH4 oxidation was observed as a significant decrease in CH4 concentration, a significant increase in stable isotope 13C signature, and an increase in MOB during the incubation. Thus, CH4 accumulating in the top 20 cm of the water column, fed by diffusion from CH4 in trapped bubbles, may fuel significant CH4 oxidation. Since northern latitude lakes can be ice-covered for many months of the year and significant amounts of CH4 accumulate below the ice, the extent of CH4 oxidation under these low temperature-conditions is important for understanding the potential CH4 emissions to the atmosphere during ice-melt.