Methane Oxidation Rates in 61 Yellowstone Hot Springs

61 Yellowstone hot springs were surveyed for biological methane oxidation, spanning pH 1.9–9.0 and temperatures of 28.6–92.2 °C. The dataset contains geochemical and microbial data, with methane oxidation observed at 14 of 17 experimental sites. It was created by Alta E. G. Howells and published in 2026.

Use Cases

• Analyze methane oxidation rates (MOR) across hot springs with varying pH and temperature to identify environmental thresholds.
• Correlate microbial phylotype abundance (e.g., Verrucomicrobia, Methylocystaceae) with geochemical variables like CH4 and NH3 concentrations.
• Investigate the relationship between energy supply calculations (CH4/O2, CH4/NH3 ratios) and observed oxidation rates to test metabolic predictions.
• Identify sites with significant methane oxidation but no known methanotrophs to flag potential novel thermophilic lineages.

Strengths

• Data from 61 distinct hot spring sites provides broad environmental coverage.
• Samples span an extreme temperature range from 28.6 °C to 92.2 °C.
• Integrates multiple data types: geochemistry, 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomics, and microcosm assays.

Limitations

• The dataset is small in file size (689.6 KB), indicating limited scope and likely a summary table rather than raw sequencing data.
• Specific column names and row counts are not provided, limiting immediate understanding of the data structure.
• Focus is exclusively on Yellowstone National Park, limiting geographic generalizability.

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.

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Hot springs within Yellowstone National Park, USA.