Yellowstone Hot Springs Methane Oxidation Geochemical and Microbial Data

61 Yellowstone hot springs spanning pH 1.9–9.0 and temperatures of 28.6–92.2 °C were surveyed for methanotrophy. The dataset combines geochemical analyses, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, shotgun metagenome sequencing, and 14CH4 microcosm assays. It was produced by Alta E. G. Howells to investigate the upper temperature limits of biological methane oxidation in continental hydrothermal ecosystems.

Use Cases

• Analyze methane oxidation rates (MOR) across sites with varying CH4/O2 and CH4/NH3 concentration ratios to model energy supply constraints.
• Correlate microbial community composition (e.g., relative abundance of Methylocystaceae, Verrucomicrobia, Candidatus Nitrosocaldus) with geochemical parameters like pH and temperature.
• Identify sites with significant methane oxidation but no detected known methanotrophs to target for discovery of novel thermophilic lineages.
• Investigate the potential competitive inhibition of methanotrophy by NH3 at ammonia-rich sites dominated by archaeal ammonia oxidizers.

Strengths

• Data from 61 distinct hot spring sites provides a broad survey of hydrothermal ecosystems.
• Includes multiple data types: geochemistry, 16S sequencing, metagenomics, and 14CH4 microcosm assays for a multi-faceted analysis.
• Covers an extreme temperature range from 28.6 °C to 92.2 °C, pushing known thermal boundaries for the process.

Limitations

• The primary data is embedded within a 137.4 KB PDF, requiring extraction for computational analysis.
• Sample data and column definitions are unavailable, limiting immediate usability for machine learning.
• The dataset is a static snapshot from a specific study with no stated update frequency.

Provenance

Source

Figshare, authored by Alta E. G. Howells.

Collection Method

Combined field sampling, geochemical analyses, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, shotgun metagenome sequencing, and 14CH4 microcosm assays.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Hot springs within Yellowstone National Park.