Methane Oxidation Rates in Yellowstone Hot Springs

A 2026 study presents data on biological methane oxidation from 61 hot springs in Yellowstone National Park, spanning pH 1.9–9.0 and temperatures of 28.6–92.2 °C. The dataset includes geochemical analyses, microbial sequencing, and microcosm assay results, with methane oxidation observed at 14 of 17 experimental sites. It was authored by Alta E. G. Howells and published on figshare.

Use Cases

• Analyze methane oxidation rates (MOR) across hot springs with varying CH4 and NH3 concentrations to model energy supply predictions.
• Correlate microbial community data, such as the relative abundance of Methylocystaceae or Verrucomicrobia, with geochemical parameters like pH and temperature.
• Identify sites with significant methane oxidation but no known methanotrophs, such as the 89.9 °C site, to investigate novel thermophilic lineages.

Strengths

• Data covers 61 distinct hot spring sites, providing a broad environmental survey.
• Includes measurements across an extreme temperature range from 28.6 to 92.2 °C.
• Combines multiple data types: geochemistry, 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomics, and 14CH4 microcosm assays.

Limitations

• The dataset is small at 32.7 KB, indicating limited scope and likely a summary table rather than raw sequence data.
• Specific column names, row counts, and sample data are unavailable, limiting detailed reproducibility.
• Findings are specific to Yellowstone National Park's hydrothermal ecosystems and may not generalize to other geothermal regions.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Alta E. G. Howells.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated March 23, 2026.

Geography

Yellowstone National Park hot springs.