Methane-eating microbes can use iron and manganese oxides to 'breathe'
Friday, July 10, 2009 - 10:00
in Earth & Climate
Iron and manganese compounds, in addition to sulphate, may play an important role in converting methane to carbon dioxide and eventually carbonates in the Earth's oceans, according to a team of researchers looking at anaerobic sediments. These same compounds may have been key to methane reduction in the early, oxygenless days of the planet's atmosphere...