Methane Oxidation in 61 Yellowstone Hot Springs Across Extreme Temperatures

Yellowstone National Park data from 61 hot springs surveys biological methane oxidation across pH 1.9–9.0 and temperatures of 28.6–92.2 °C. The dataset includes geochemical analyses, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenome data, and microcosm assay results, with methane oxidation rates measured at 14 of 17 experimental sites. It was produced by Alta E. G. Howells to study methanotrophy in extreme hydrothermal ecosystems.

Use Cases

• Analyze methane oxidation rates (MOR) across sites with varying CH4, O2, and NH3 concentration ratios to model energy supply predictions.
• Identify correlations between microbial phylotypes like Verrucomicrobia (S-BQ2-57) or Methylocystaceae and geochemical conditions such as pH and temperature.
• Investigate the potential for novel thermophilic lineages by examining sites with significant MOR but no detected known methanotrophs, including data from 89.9 °C.

Strengths

• Data spans 61 distinct hot spring sites, providing a broad survey of hydrothermal ecosystems.
• Covers an extreme temperature range from 28.6 °C to 92.2 °C and pH from 1.9 to 9.0.
• Integrates multiple data types: geochemical analyses, genetic sequencing (16S rRNA, metagenome), and 14CH4 microcosm assays.

Limitations

• The dataset is small at 13.0 KB, indicating limited scope and likely summary-level data rather than raw sequences or detailed measurements.
• Unknown row and column structure prevents assessment of data granularity and feature completeness.
• Focus is exclusively on Yellowstone National Park, limiting geographic generalizability.

Provenance

Source

figshare, authored by Alta E. G. Howells.

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Last updated March 23, 2026.

Geography

Yellowstone National Park hot springs, USA.